Thomas Episode Adaptations
by ThomasZoey3000
Summary: Adaptations I have done.
1. Middle Engines

_**Middle Engines**_

_**Based on the Original Episode**_

The Fat Controller's engines are kept busy all year round doing the jobs they like to do best. Gordon pulls the express, Thomas runs his branch line, Duck and Oliver run the little western branch line, Edward shunts and Percy carries the mail.

But none of the engines like being a middle engine, it's hard to see in the middle, which makes the journey all the more difficult.

One morning Percy was sent to the big yards to collect some coal trucks, when out of nowhere 'Arry and Bert showed up with some more coal trucks. Before Percy could act, he was stuck in the middle!

"Oh bother!" groaned Percy.

"Little green piggy in the middle, " chortled 'Arry.

Percy's Driver was annoyed, with coal trucks in the front and the back, Percy would have to go slowly.

They were soon passing through Maithwaite station where James was waiting for his next train.

"Ha-Ha! It's slow coach Percy!" he laughed.

"You wouldn't think it's funny if it was you in the middle!" snapped Percy and continued on to the coaling plant.

One by one, Percy shunted the trucks in front of him onto the tiper's loading ramp and the coal was quickly unloaded. Percy knew that he was never allowed on the tiper's loaing ramp, unless it was turned off, it was aganist the rules.

Percy's driver and fireman walked off to talk to the yard manager when trouble came.

Henry had arrived to take some coal trucks away, he bumped into the coal trucks, which pushed Percy...onto the tiper's loading ramp.

Before anyone could stop him, Percy was being lifted by the ramp.

"Help!" he cried, "I'm not a truck!"

But no one heard him, he went to the top of the ramp, tipped over to his side, then came back down again. He was dizzy by the time he came back down, but he knew he was going to get into trouble for sure.

"What happened here?" asked the yard manager.

"I was pushed onto the ramp, sir," groaned Percy.

"I see," he said, "still I'll have to report this to the Fat Controller."

That night, Percy told the Fat Controller everything that had happened.

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't your fault Percy," he said, "but why were you in the middle of your train?"

"It was 'Arry and Bert sir," groaned Percy, "they made me into a middle engine before I could react to their silly tricks."

"I see," said the Fat Controller, "well till this matter is sorted out, Percy you're not allowed into the big yards until those diesels are caught in the act."

"Pah!" snorted James, thinking nobody could hear him, "I could handle those diesels with bent buffers and a busted boiler!"

"Then you can do Percy's run to the yards tomorrow James," said the Fat Controller sternly.

"Yes sir," said James quietly.

The next morning, James arrived at the yards determined not to bullied by 'Arry and Bert.

"Hello James, " oozed 'Arry, "care to learn a thing or two from those who know?"

"Just get my trucks ready and stay out of my way," said James in a commanding voice.

"Yes, sir, " oiled Bert.

James returned later to find his trucks all ready for him, he thought that he had the diesels fooled but he was wrong!

"Little red piggy in the middle," chortled 'Arry.

"Just like Percy," cheered Bert.

"I'm not like Percy," snorted James, "I'm not a middle engine and I'm not moving till you remove these trucks from my view!"

'Arry and Bert didn't, so James stayed where he was, despite his Driver telling him otherwise.

In the end, Percy was called to take James and his trucks to the docks, of course James didn't help one bit.

"Right on time Percy," smiled the yard manager, "but what is James doing in the middle of your train?"

"He's learning!"

"Learning what?"

"Learning to be careful what he says in future!"

James vanished in a cloud of steam, but it didn't help as everyone knew that he was the only red engine on the Fat Controller's railway. Needless to say, James was not impressed.

'Arry and Bert were punished by the Fat Controller once he caught up with them, and as for James, he certainly was more careful the next time the subject of middle engines was brought up.


	2. Slow Down, Thomas!

_**Slow Down, Thomas!**_

_**Based on "Thomas and the Lighthouse"**_

An autumn festival was coming to the Island, all the engines were helping, whenever they weren't busy doing their own jobs.

One afternoon Thomas was resting after taking a coal train all across the Island, when the Fat Controller's car pulled up.

"Thomas, I need you to take a new lightbulb for the lighthouse just before Brendam."

"Yes sir," puffed Thomas, and set off for his important job.

Thomas' Driver carefully helped the workers load the light bulb into his truck then slowly but surely, Thomas puffed on his way.

As he puffed along, Thomas thought to himself...

"The lighthouse is at the far end of the Island, if I keep going slowly, then I'll miss the festival."

Thomas should have remembered an incident he had once before with speed and eggs, but it looked he was about to do it all over again.

"Can't we go a little faster?" he asked his Driver.

"I guess so," he said, "it shouldn't cause any trouble, more coal fireman!"

The fireman placed more coal into Thomas' firebox, allowing Thomas to speed up, only a little bit. As he raced along, Thomas passed by other engines with important loads, this made him worry.

"I don't want to miss the party," he thought to himself and so he began to speed up.

Soon Thomas was flying along, almost reaching the speeds Jeremy used. The Driver and fireman were getting concered and thought it best to slow their engine down a little.

Thomas however didn't want to slow down, he went faster and faster till he reached his limit of speed.

"This is the way to get the job done!" he puffed, "Waa-Hoo!"

"Slow down Thomas! You'll..."

The Driver got no further, up ahead, Harvey was replacing some track, a barrier was placed over the line to warn other trains. Thomas was going too fast for his own good, the brakes went on with a groan.

"Cinders and Ashes!" puffed Thomas.

He hit the barrier hard, which caused his truck bump into the back of him, braking the light bulb with a loud shatter.

"What was that?"

"You silly engine!" cried the Driver, "lightbulbs brake easily, just like eggs, what is it with you and fragile stuff?"

Thomas groaned loudly, he felt foolish.

After the mess was cleared up, Thomas puffed his way back to the yards to get a new lightbulb, on the way they met Edward at Misty Valley, Thomas told him what happened.

"Oh well," he puffed, "you got a little carried away that's all, we all have those moments."

It was only then Thomas remembered that his next job was to collect the chinese dragon from the docks, but knew he would never get it to the festival on time.

"Edward, can you do me a big favour and collect the dragon from the docks, it's for the festival."

"Certainly Thomas," smiled Edward, "I'm heading off the docks anyways."

Thomas was greetful and puffed off. Before long, Thomas had a new lightbulb added into his truck and he puffed slowly all the way.

He knew he was going to miss the festival, but doing his job without braking another lightbulb was more important than a bunch of fun and games.

He saw Edward passing by with the dragon.

"Thank you, Edward!" he called.

Edward whistled as he went on his way.

By the time Thomas arrived at the lighthouse, the sun was already going down, Ceril the fogman was visiting the lighthouse kepper, both men were delighted to see Thomas with the new lightbulb.

"Thank you Thomas, you did well."

Thomas blushed, he was glad to see the lighthouse keeper smiling at him, instead of yelling at him.

By nightfall, Thomas was ready to go, he knew he had already missed the festival, he was disappointed.

As he reached the top of the hill, Thomas looked and saw the lighthouse's bright light shining across the ocean, the ship's out on the ocean, looked like stars in the night sky.

"Wow," smiled Thomas, "I might have missed the festival, but this was worth it, to see a wonderful sight."

"A sight you would never have seen, if you want fast with the second light bulb," added the Driver.

Thomas agreed and promised that if he ever got to pull an important fragile special again, he would be careful with it...well, we can only hope, can't we?


	3. It's Never Good to Cheat

_**It's Never Good to Cheat**_

_**Based on "It's Good to Be Gordon"**_

Gordon the big proud doncaster engine has pulled the express on the Fat Controller's Railway for years, he even holds the record for pulling the express trains on time.

Early one morning, Henry was pulling into the station with a train load of logs, while Gordon waited at platform four. Platform one was under some repairs for a while. Gordon's Driver came out to see him.

"You've broken the record again, Gordon," he smiled.

Gordon however didn't smile at all.

"What ever is the matter Gordon?" asked Henry, "I would have thought that would be great news."

"It is," he sighed, "but, I still think about what I did, all those years ago, when I was due to break the record again, do you remember?"

"How could I forget," sighed Henry.

In those days, Henry's firebox wasn't big enough, as a result, whenever he was given ordinary coal he wouldn't run probably. Then the Fat Controller brought in Welsh coal for Henry, from that point onwards Henry could run probably.

Early one morning, the Fat Controller arrived with important news for Gordon.

"If you pull the express across the Island and back again, on time, then you'll once again break the record," he said to Gordon.

Gordon was pleased and so was his crew, and all the other engines.

Before long, Gordon arrived at the coaling plant to take on more coal, his tender was quickly loaded and started puffing away, when he heard the yard manager call out..."Stop Gordon!"

"You've been given Henry's Welsh coal by mistake!"

Gordon however wasn't thinking about Henry, he thought that the coal might do him more good, so he pretended like he didn't hear and puffed away.

"What was it, the yard manager said to you, Gordon?" asked the Driver.

"He said...ah, good Luck Gordon!" he said, lying to his Driver.

"Well that was nice of him," said the fireman.

"Well I'm sure we'll hear that a lot today," said the Driver.

In a short while, Henry arrived and pulled up under the chute.

"I'm sorry," said the yard manager, "but we're all out of Welsh coal, till tomorrow."

The Driver looked out of the cab, he sighed unhappily, "that will mean that Henry will have to use ordinary coal today."

Henry groaned to himself, "who would want to take my coal and leave me with ordinary coal?"

"I don't know," sighed the fireman, "not to worry, it's only for one day, I'm sure you can handle it."

Sadly Henry couldn't, as he puffed along with the tar wagons going to repair the broken roads, black smoke poured out of his funnel while his face went green.

Gordon meanwhile had collected his coaches and pulled smoothly into the station. Once the guard's whistle blew, Gordon pulled out of the station quickly, like a rabbit coming out of a hat.

As he puffed along, Gordon wasn't sure, but he felt that his performance had gone up a bit more, he thought it was all because of Henry's coal.

"Maybe I should take the Welsh coal more often," he thought to himself as he continued along.

Henry in the meanwhile was doing worse than his crew thought, he felt sick.

"Not to worry, Henry," called his Driver, "when we get back to the yards, we'll clean your firebox out and give you a well earned washdown."

Henry couldn't say anything, he felt stuffed up.

Thomas could see this as he puffed along light engine, heading off to collect Annie and Clarabel.

Gordon had made good timing as he waited at Maithwaite station for his passengers to board the train, Edward was nearby, taking on water.

"Have you heard about Henry?" he asked.

"Not at all," he said, "I've been a little busy with the express. How's the green show-off doing?"

"Show-off?" Edward was puzzled, "Gordon, he's been doing well lately because of the Welsh coal, but today he couldn't get it."

Gordon stopped smiling when he heard that.

"Some foolish engine took all special coal and ran off. Thomas says that Henry's in worse shape then we all thought."

"I'm sure he's fine," said Gordon.

Deep down however, Gordon was starting to have his own doubts over what he had done. The guard's whistle blew and Gordon puffed away back to the big station.

As he puffed along, Gordon began to have an awful feeling in his boiler that he had made a mistake. He was due to find out as he arrived at the middle station and found Henry blowing off nasty black smoke and shaking voilently.

"Are you alright Henry?" he asked.

"No, I'm not," he groaned, "some foolish engine stole my Welsh coal this morning, so I had to take ordinary coal...it's not settling well with my boiler."

Now Gordon was feeling worse than before.

"Good luck with your record braking," called Henry, as Gordon stormed off, "I know you can do it!"

Gordon soon pulled back into the big station, he had his picture taken in so many directions, and the Fat Controller told Gordon that he was proud of him.

Once the party was over, Gordon asked if they could go find Henry.

"Alright," said his Driver, "but we should go park the coaches in a siding."

"No time for that," huffed Gordon, "let's go!"

So without asking anymore questions, Gordon's driver threw his engine into reserve. He didn't have to go backwards for too long as he soon found Henry looking miserable and worse than before.

"Did you break the record?" he asked wheesing.

"I did," sighed Gordon, "but only because of your coal. I was the foolish engine that took your coal."

"You did what?" asked Henry in surprise, "you know I need that coal, what are you, selfish?"

"I was," sighed Gordon again, "and I'm sorry...tell you what, for the rest of the day why don't you take my tender and you give me yours, that way you'll get your Welsh coal back."

In no time at all, the Drivers and firemen had uncoupled the two engines, then coupled them onto the other's tenders, then they backed down onto their own trains.

Right away, Henry felt better with the Welsh coal in his firebox.

"That's much better," he sighed in relief, "thank you Gordon."

"You're welcome," he said, "and I promise I won't do that again."

"Ever since then you never did," snickered Henry, "but of course, it doesn't matter if you take my coal today, seeing how I run on the same coal as you now."

Gordon chuckled a little.

"Anyways, good luck in breaking the record again."

Gordon made excellent timing with the express, and once again broke the record.

When he returned to the sheds that night, all the other engines all cheered for him, especially Henry and that night, while he slept, Gordon dreamt back to what happened that day and what he did for Henry in return to help him out.

"Thanks again, Gordon," smiled Henry.

"Your welcome," he sighed unhappily.

Thomas was nearby and he wanted to know something, "who holds the old record?"

"Why, I do," chuckled Gordon happily. Ever since Gordon never did take the Welsh coal again, especially not after Henry's accident with the kipper, Gordon knew better than do something that foolish again.


	4. Thomas Goes Too Far

_**Thomas Goes too Far**_

_**Based on "Thomas and the Statue"**_

Winter was on it's way to the Island of Sodor, the leaves had already fallen from the trees and fog floated everywhere. This however didn't slow the engines down as they worked day in, day out.

Early one foggy morning, the Fat Controller came to see his engines.

"In a few days," he said, "there will be a special celebration."

"Excuse me sir," asked Thomas, "what is this celebration going to be about?"

"To celebrate 60 years of the famous books of you engines."

The engines were very excited to hear that, "now," continued the Fat Controller, "I will reguire one of you engines to go to the docks to a special for Peel station. I would send Neville or Molly but they are too busy right now."

"Can I go collect the special sir?" asked Thomas.

The Fat Controller poundered for a minute than agreed, "Percy will do your usual jobs, till you get back," then he drove away.

"I wonder what the special is," said Percy.

"I'll tell you about it later," said Thomas, "after I deliever it to Peel."

Thomas was excited as he pulled into the docks, "hurry up slowcoach," he called to Cranky, "I want to see what this special is!"

"Remember Thomas," said his Driver, "Patience Is a Virtue."

Thomas knew this but, he was too excited to listen, even his fireman wanted to know what the special was.

Cranky did not like being told what to do, especially by small engines.

"Why are you excited?" asked Cranky, "it's just a statue!"

"Well that answers one question," said the fireman.

Thomas watched as Cranky lowered the crate, then watched as the workmen removed the crate, revealing the odd shape inside.

The statue had a familair look, it had a tall funnel shape at the front and a wide shape at the back that looked like a cab, the shape looked like Thomas' shape.

"Oh how wonderful it is," smiled Thomas, "it is of me, that was kind of the Fat Controller."

Later that night, Thomas was brought back to the sheds, all the other engines were fast asleep. Thomas was too excited to sleep, he whispered over to Percy.

"Percy, guess what, I think the statue is of me!"

"Really Thomas?" he asked sleepily, "that's nice, now can I get some sleep?"

"Oh sure Percy," whispered Thomas, "this 60th party is going to be grand for sure."

The next morning, the Fat Controller gave out the jobs for the day, then he told Thomas to collect more supplies for the celebration that was to go on later that day.

Thomas soon arrived at the yards to collect the platform for the statue.

"Are you excited to see my statue?" Thomas asked Edward.

"It might not be your statue Thomas," he said, "it could something different."

Thomas didn't listen and puffed away, as soon as he was coupled up. Next Thomas arrived at Maithwaite to collect a stand for the Fat Controller.

"The Fat Controller's going to great lengths for my statue, wouldn't you agree Emily?"

"Who says it's going to be your statue?" she asked angerily.

"You'll see," he grinned as he steamed away.

All day long, Thomas bragged off to the other engines all about 'his statue' until at last, when he told Percy for the umpteenth time.

"Stop talking about the statue!" he cried, "nobody wants to hear about it anymore."

"But it's for the celebration."

"Nobody cares, in fact that's why nobody's talking to you and neither am I!"

Percy puffed on his way, leaving Thomas with a dreadful feeling in his boiler.

"I did it again, didn't I?" he asked his Driver, "I was bragging off again."

Neither his Driver or fireman answered him back, still Thomas knew their answer, he had gone a little too far with his boastful attitude again.

On the way back to Tidmouth, the snow started to come down, lightly at first then faster and faster, still Thomas puffed on to the sheds, where the Fat Controller was waiting.

"The tracks to Peel station are blocked with snow, Donald and Douglas are at the works for repairs and all the other engines are too busy. I reguire one of you to clear all the tracks to the station."

"I'll do it sir," blurted out Thomas at once.

The other engines gasped, they all knew that Thomas hated his snowplough and clearing the tracks would mean he would be late.

"Very well Thomas," smiled the Fat Controller, "but you must hurry, the party begins soon."

Thomas puffed off to the yards, where he his snowplough was attached, then he puffed all across the main lines and branch lines clearing the snow away.

"I've been a really silly engine again," he groaned, "I sure hope the others will forgive me soon."

Thomas continued on threw the countryside, pushing the snow aside, sometimes with ease and other times, he would have to back up and attack the drifts again.

Thanks to Thomas, the tracks were all clear and the engines had arrived on time for the party. Before the celebration was to begin, the Fat Controller gave out a speech saying how proud he was of his engines.

The engines were honored but they were still cross with Thomas.

The snowstorm had covered the statue with snow but, now the sun was starting to shine, making the snow melt until the last of it fell to the ground.

The engines gasped, "that's not Thomas!" said Gordon.

"No," said Percy, "it's of all of us!"

Percy was right, the statue had the Fat Controller standing in the front, the engines behind him were Toby, Emily, Gordon, Henry, James, Edward, Thomas and Percy.

"I am so proud of you engines," smiled the Fat Controller, "for over sixty years, you've done our railway proud, well done all of you!"

The engines and their crews cheered loudly, just as Thomas arrived, tired but glad the job was over.

"Just look at the statue Thomas," chuckled James.

Thomas looked at it and gasped, "bust my boiler, it's not of me at all, it's all of us."

Then he spoke up, "I'm sorry for being so boastful, I didn't mean to make you all cross. I think that this statue of all of us is the best statue, Sodor's ever seen in years."

All the engines, the crews and the visitors and even the Fat Controller cheered as they agreed with Thomas.


	5. It's Okay To Be a Little Different

_**It's Okay to Be A Little Different**_

_**Based on "Harvey to the Rescue"**_

During the summer months, the workloads increase - which also meant a few derailments every now and then. Sometimes the accidents occur because of the engines, other times it's because of the trucks.

The Fat Controller's railway has a breakdown train which is only to be used in emergencies, as both Thomas and James found out years ago. Sadly when the crane is in the works, then that can cause trouble for the Fat Controller and the engines.

The engines try hard, but they can't control the trucks and their reckless behaviour.

At last, the Fat Controller decided it was time to bring in a new crane.

On a warm summer's day, as Thomas and Percy were waiting for Salty to arrange their trucks, they watched as Cranky the crane was lowering a new engine safely to the rails.

"This engine's twice as heavy as regular engines," groaned Cranky.

Thomas and Percy looked at the new engine with puzzled looks.

"Hello there," the engine called, "my name is Harvey, I'm a crane engine."

"Hello Harvey, I'm Thomas and this is my best friend Percy."

Harvey was happy to make some new friends already, but Cranky certainly wasn't happy, "not even a thank you," he grumbled out loud.

The Fat Controller then came up along with five important looking men.

"These gentlemen are the railway board," he said, "tomorrow Harvey will give them a demostration, if it goes well then he'll become the railway's latest crane."

"I sure he passes the demostation," said Percy.

"Demostration Percy," Thomas corrected.

"Right, right, er...what does it mean?"

"It simply means 'showing off what you can do'."

"Like when Thomas and I race," called Bertie, "and he loses!"

"Right when I...hey! Oh, you're lucky I have work to do, otherwise I would race you for sure!"

Later that night, Thomas was returning to the sheds, he and his crew could hear the other engines talking about Harvey.

"He doesn't look like a real engine," sniffed Henry.

"Give the young engine a chance," said Edward, "I'm sure he'll show just how useful he can be."

"Pah," sniffed Gordon, "one thing's for sure, the Fat Controller won't let him pull coaches."

"He's just Cranky on wheels," scoffed James.

"No he's not," snapped Percy crossly, "Harvey's a great engine!"

"Thank goodness for Percy and Edward," smiled Thomas' Driver.

Thomas felt sorry for Harvey, so before he was placed inside his shed, he asked his Driver to bring him over to speak to the crane engine.

"Don't worry Harvey, sometimes it just takes time to make new friends."

"Thanks Thomas," he sighed, "I just wish those three engines would stop saying mean things about me."

"Ah you shouldn't worry yourself over Gordon, Henry and James, for them it takes a little longer."

The next morning, Edward decided to have a little talk with Harvey.

"Maybe my arrival wasn't the best choice made," sighed Harvey.

"Nonsense Harvey," he said, "you might look a little different but deep down, you're still a really useful engine just like any other engine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, just remember this, 'it's okay to be a little different', cause being different makes you special."

That made Harvey feel a bit better.

That morning, Percy was helping Duck and Oliver with some extra ballast trucks. Sadly he was having trouble as he was taking them to the big station.

"Faster we go! Faster we go! Pull him along, don't let him slow!"

"Help!" cried Percy in terror.

Percy's Driver and Fireman fought for control and for a while they did, until they came to Bulgy's bridge.

The brake van bounced off the rails first, followed by the trucks and lastly Percy came off too.

"Stupid engines," sniggered Bulgy, "always causing trouble!"

Percy didn't bother to reply back to that. His Driver and fireman checked to see if he was hurt while the guard - who had jumped out before the crash went to phone for help.

Sadly there was more trouble to come, with the trucks blocking the road, the cars and lorries couldn't get past - not even Bertie.

"Are you okay Percy?" he asked.

"I think so," he groaned.

"That's good, but now there's a problem - I can't get the gentlemen of the railway board and the Fat Controller to Harvey's demostration."

"It wasn't my fault!"

Then they all heard the sound of a tank engine coming towards them, everyone looked to see, it was Harvey.

"Oh my, what a mess," he said, "don't worry Percy, I'll have you back on the tracks in no time!"

Percy's Driver got out a long chain and wrapped it around Percy's front end, then they attached it to Harvey's hook.

"Alright, here goes!" called Harvey.

Everyone watched as Harvey lifted Percy carefully back onto the tracks, even Bulgy was surprised by this.

"That's one strong engine," he grunted quietly.

Then Harvey worked hard to lift the unhurt trucks back onto the rails and placed the broken pieces into the trucks.

After all the work was done, the Fat Controller came up the hill to speak to Harvey and his crew.

"You have put on the best demostration of all," he said happily, "the gentlemen of the railway board were certainly impressed."

"Thank you, but did I pass?" Harvey asked.

"Yes indeed Harvey, you passed and now you are Sodor's first ever crane engine!"

"Oh thank you sir!" smiled Harvey.

That night, Harvey was parked near the sheds, he was worried that the big engines were still going to tease him, but he heard something completly different.

"Well done Harvey," said Gordon.

"You're certainly no Cranky on wheels," said James, "you were very useful."

"Thanks for saving me," said Percy happily.

"You see," called Edward, "being different is a good thing."

All the other engines agreed happily - then they all shouted out, "welcome to Sodor, Harvey!"

Harvey was so happy that he was speechless, he knew from that moment onwards, he would be happy as he worked as Sodor's one and only crane engine.


	6. Rosie to the Rescue

_**Rosie to the Rescue**_

_**Based on "Thomas and the Birthday Mail"**_

It had been raining hard for weeks, the weather on Sodor was rough. Still when there's work to be done, the engines work hard day in and day out.

Thomas the Tank Engine was always busy during this time of the year, taking supplies to many places on the Island. One of his favourite places, he likes to stop at is High farm.

"Good morning Alice," called Thomas.

"Good morning Thomas," she said, "guess what? Today's my birthday."

"That's wonderful," said Thomas' Driver, "happy birthday Alice."

"Thank you so much," she smiled.

Once the supplies were unloaded from his trucks, Thomas puffed on his way back to the yards.

Later on that afternoon, Thomas was all set to go back to High farm with more supplies and some birthday presents for Alice.

"Do you think she'll like them?" asked Thomas.

"I'm sure she will," said his Driver.

The fireman looked up to the sky, "that sky's looking angry today, we might get a torrential downpour."

"Maybe we should check on the weather reports," agreed the Driver.

Thomas' Driver and fireman were just walking into the station, when Thomas saw an engine he had never seen before pull into the station.

"Hello there, who are you?"

"I'm Rosie, I'm the new shunting engine for Knapford."

"Well you're a long ways off from Knapford station," said Thomas, "Oh and I'm Thomas."

"No way, the Thomas the Tank Engine? Oh my gosh, I can't believe it I finally get to meet my idol! I want to be just like you!"

"Well you're going to be working at Knapford, that's a start."

"How about wheesing steam like you?" To prove it, she blew off her steam like Thomas would, then she blew her whistle like Thomas would.

"That's called being a copycat," he grumbled.

Rosie just smiled, just as Thomas' driver and fireman arrived back.

"It's all clear for a while Thomas," said his Driver, "still it might be better to go the long way, it'll mean a longer run."

"Doesn't bother me," said Thomas, "we can handle it."

"Excuse me," called Rosie, "can you give us directions to Knapford, I'm needed there right away."

Thomas' fireman gave Rosie's crew the directions they needed.

"For most of the way, you'll be going down the same route as us."

"If we're going the same way maybe I could help you out by being a back engine."

"I don't need a back engine," said Thomas, who was now getting annoyed by Rosie, "I don't have a very big train, it's only a few trucks, I can handle this on my own."

Once he the signal dropped, Thomas puffed on his way with Rosie puffing slowly behind on the other line.

As they puffed along through the valley, the rain started coming down. It made the journey very difficult but still Thomas pressed on with Rosie following behind.

"Bother!" he groaned, "the little copycat is still following me."

"You know she's on her way to Knapford, so she's only following us for a short while."

"That short while seems like a long run to me," grumbled Thomas.

Before long, they came to a junction. Thomas was suppose to go down the longer line but the points were faulty today, they sent Thomas down the shorter line.

Unaware of this, Thomas and his crew continued on down the rails.

"I won't be seeing anymore of Rosie today," said Thomas happily.

Then there was trouble, there was a rumble.

Thomas came to a complete stop just as a mudslide came across the rails.

"Cinders and Ashes!" cried Thomas, "not again, last time a mudslide came across the line, I was stuck out on Toby's old line till late at night."

"Come on Thomas, let's go back," said his Driver.

The trucks however saw their chance for some fun, they bumped each other and pushed Thomas into the mud bank.

"Oh!" groaned Thomas, "stupid trucks!"

Thomas' Driver threw Thomas into reverse but it no good, Thomas was wheel deep in mud.

"We're stuck again," groaned Thomas.

Just then, they heard the sounds of an engine coming. It was Rosie again, "sorry we have taken a wrong track back there," called Rosie's Driver.

"Thank goodness," sighed Thomas, "I need some help! Can you take these supplies to high farm for me and get some help?"

"Of course I will!" smiled Rosie.

Rosie was switched over to Thomas' line and coupled to the trucks, then she puffed on her way to High farm.

She returned quite soon with the empty trucks.

"All the supplies have been delivered," she said, "and Alice's mother has phoned for help, Edward's on his way with Rocky."

"Thank goodness," smiled Thomas, then he noticed that Rosie had a passenger on board.

"Hello Thomas," said Alice, "thank you so much for the presents, I love them!"

"Your welcome Alice, but you should be thanking Rosie too, for it wasn't for her, your gifts and supplies would have been stuck with me for a long time. Thank you so much, Rosie."

"Your welcome," smiled Rosie.

After a while Thomas was free from the mud and on his way back to the branch line, when he spotted Rosie puffed on her way to Knapford.

"She might be a copycat," said Thomas, "but she is very helpful, she is a delight to have in our engine family."

Thomas blew his whistle, and Rosie responded back almost the same way Thomas does.

"Then again, having a copycat around might be a problem."

Thomas' crew only laughed.


	7. Overloaded

_**Overloaded**_

_**Based on "The Biggest Present of All"**_

All the engines work hard all year round but sometimes the workload can be a little too much, even for the mighty engines Hank and Murdoch. That's when the Fat Controller decides to bring in a visitor to help with the heavy workloads.

One morning Thomas and Percy were at Knapford Station, Thomas was collecting his passengers and Percy was collecting the post. Just then, they heard the sounds of a big engine coming their way.

"Maybe it's the visiting engine," said Thomas' Driver.

"That's right, the Fat Controller said that someone is coming to help with the heavy workloads," agreed Thomas' fireman.

"I wonder who it is," said Percy.

The big engine rolled into the station, he had a huge 51 on the side of the tender, red wheels, a big black boiler, and two big smoke deflectors. There was also a nameplate which read...

"HIRO!" gasped Thomas.

"Hello my friends," called Hiro, "it's so wonderful to see you again, I've missed all of you."

"And we missed you too Hiro," smiled Thomas.

"Are you the visiting engine, who's come to help with the workloads?" asked Percy.

"Indeed I am Percy," smiled Hiro.

"Hiro, did you get a grand welcome when you went home?" asked Thomas.

"Oh yes Thomas, although much has changed."

Just then, the Fat Controller came out to greet Hiro, "welcome back, Master of the Railway. Now, I need you to go to the Sodor Steamworks, you need to be looked over."

"Of course sir!"

Hiro blew his mighty whistle as he stormed out of the station. Once he was away, the Fat Controller turned his attention to Thomas and Percy.

"We are going to be holding a special welcome back party for Hiro later tonight," he said, "as you go about your work today, be sure to tell other engines about the party."

"Yes sir," said the two engines in unison.

After Thomas was done with his branch line passenger train, he set off for the yards to collect his next train.

"I sure hope we can finish, so we can go to Hiro's party."

"So do we Thomas," said his Driver, "so do we."

The trucks however had overheard and thought it would be fun to play a trick on Thomas.

"Hold back," whispered the trucks to each other, "and pass the word down to the others!"

Thomas was unaware of their silly tricks, until he tried to start. The trucks held back so much that Thomas' wheels slipped on the rails.

"Come on! Come on!" groaned Thomas.

At last Thomas was able to start and the train pulled away from the yards.

Thomas was five minutes late as he pulled up beside Farmer McGoll's farm.

"Feeling overloaded Thomas?" asked Emily, who was dropping off some wood.

"I'm okay," puffed Thomas wearily, then he told Emily about Hiro's party, "now if you'll excuse me, I still have other jobs to do!"

Sadly he hadn't reconked for one diesel rail-car who's lazy attitude got the better of her again.

"Oh you have to be joking me," groaned Thomas as he puffed up to the sheds and noticing the line of empty quarry trucks, "bother that Daisy, always avoiding dirty work!"

"Come on Thomas," said his Driver, "we'll take the trucks, then we'll take the machinery to the steamworks."

Thomas first coupled up to the steamwork's trucks, then to the quarry trucks but like the last set of trucks, they held back and made the journey difficult.

"Bother these trucks, why can't they come along quietly and behave themselves for once?"

At last Thomas arrived at the quarry, where he told Mavis about Hiro's party.

"I'll go as soon as I'm done," she said.

Throughout the trip to the steamworks, Thomas began to feel 'overloaded'. The trucks continued with their silly games.

"Hold back! Hold back!" they giggled.

Thomas tried hard but he was exhausted by the time, he reached the steamworks.

"Thank you so much Thomas," said Victor, "we are glad to see you with our new machinery parts."

"You're welcome."

"Oh and if you don't mind taking a long line of trucks to Knapford yards for me. Don't worry they're empty."

"That'll be much easier," he thought to himself.

Thomas was coupled up to the trucks and puffed away for Knapford yards, but once again the trucks were up to no good.

"Hold back!" they giggled in their silly way.

Empty or not, they were difficult to deal with and Thomas found himself going slower and slower and slower.

"I...can...make...it...I...can...make...it...I...can't make it!"

With one blow of steam, Thomas ground to a hault.

"That's torn it," said his Driver, "you're tanks are empty Thomas, we won't be getting back to yards without help."

It was at that moment, they heard an engine coming, it was course Hiro.

"What's the matter, my young friend?"

"I have no more water in my tanks and these stupid trucks are playing tricks on me, like all the others have."

"Don't worry Thomas, we'll help."

Hiro's Driver backed him down the line, then he gently buffered up to the brakevan and gave Thomas, a small push to the water tower.

Once he had plenty of water in his tanks, Thomas was able to continue on to Knapford yards while Hiro went to his party.

"We're sure to miss Hiro's party now," sighed Thomas.

"Oh well," sighed his Driver, "couldn't be helped."

By the time Thomas was done shunting his trucks into place, it was already late, the party by now was almost over.

Thomas sulked sadly into Knapford station and stopped right beside Hiro.

"Sorry I couldn't make it Hiro, I've been busy today."

"That's alright Thomas, I'm just happy you could make it."

"Oh and thank you for the push earlier, I would have been stuck out there all night if it wasn't for you."

"I'm always glad to help my friends, especially the engine who saved me."

Thomas smiled happily at Hiro's kind words.

"I was happy to go home," said Hiro, "but I was also happy to back here and see all of my friends, the really useful engines of the Fat Controller's railway."

All the engines whistled and air-horns in delight, then they listened in to the many exciting adventures of Hiro's homeland.


	8. Duncan's Whistle

_**Duncan's Whistle**_

_**Based on "Faulty Whistles" and "Mike's Whistle"**_

One morning, Peter Sam's whistle was out of order. He had worked hard the night before taking goods trains to and from the Wharf and his Driver and fireman had used his whistle to boil some eggs for their supper.

Now when he tried to whistle, it just made a bubbling sound.

"Never mind Peter Sam," said his Driver, "we'll wait till your whistle has cooled down, then we'll clean it out. Meanwhile, no one will mind."

"I'm sure Duncan will," he groaned.

Duncan was waiting at the yards, he was waiting for Peter Sam to bring him his next train. He was also to take the headmaster and his new organ to the Wharf. Today he didn't mind waiting, as he listened to the organ's music.

"Peter Sam can take as much time as he wants," he said to himself.

Before long, Peter Sam was on his way with Duncan's trucks, his crew had even managed to clean his whistle out.

As he appoarched a lonely signalbox, a low hanging branch knocked his whistle right off, which fell to the ground along with the branch.

"Bother!" grumbled Peter Sam.

Once at the yards, Peter Sam was shunted out of the way.

"First my crew boils eggs over my whistle and now I lose it thanks to a low hanging branch, I'm really having a bad day."

"An engine's not an engine without a whistle," chuckled Duncan, "if engines can't whistle properly, they shouldn't try at all."

"Then why do you?" asked Sir Handel from a nearby siding.

"Why do I what?"

"Try to whistle, of course!"

"Shut up, you're jealous! My whistle is better than yours!"

To prove it, he gave off a mighty big blast, but the two engines simply ignored him. Duncan puffed off in a huff once his guard had blown the whistle.

"They're jealous of my fine whistle," he grumbled.

Up ahead, he saw some sheep eating grass, he blew his whistle but they were too busy eating to take any notice.

"Pah!" he groaned, "I need to whistle louder and longer next time."

He was going to get his chance as he approached a level crossing where Elizabeth the vintage lorry was waiting with farmer McColl's prized bull.

Duncan blew loud and long, which frightened the bull.

"What a racket," sniffed Elizabeth, "you don't need to blow you whistle like that!"

Duncan just ignored her and carried on down the track. As he puffed along, his Driver heard a tinkle coming from his whistle.

"Must be loose, I'll tighten it at the next station."

But he wasn't going to get the chance, as he approached a farm he spotted Terence the Tractor plowing in the field.

"He'll get the loudest and longest whistle yet!"

"No Duncan don't..."

It was too late, Duncan's blew his whislte, but the second 'peep' turned into a tremendous 'Whoooosh!' as his whistle-cap shot up like a rocket and landed out of sight.

Everyone searched for Duncan's whistle but it was nowhere to be seen.

"Sorry Duncan," said his Driver, "we can't hold up the line any longer, we'll have to keep going."

Duncan was dismayed, it was dangerous for engines to travel without a whistle.

"Leave that up to me," said the headmaster, "my organ can act as your whistle."

For the rest of the day, Duncan didn't make a sound, but the headmaster's organ did. Whenever he passed by crossings or stations, the headmaster would 'toot' the organ. It worked as well as a whistle did, Duncan however didn't like it.

Now he wished that he didn't have to take it.

Soon Duncan had delivered the last of his trucks, he took the organ to the Wharf, then he set off for home.

"Now what are we going to do," he asked his Driver, "we can't go past crossings without a whistle."

"That's an easy question to answer."

Duncan dreaded at the idea, his crew would use their own whistles at the crossings. Duncan mourned for his lost whistle.

Once Duncan got home, he was parked inside the shed.

"Can you please give me a new whistle?"

"Sorry Duncan, there are no spare whistles. We're going to phone the Thin Controller and inform him of the situation, he'll have to find you other work till your new whistle comes."

Duncan sighed with disbelieve.

Before long, the other engines returned to the sheds, Duncan knew he was going to get a teasing from them.

"Oh look, it's Duncan the musicial engine," Sir Handel chuckled.

Peter Sam felt a little sorry for Duncan, "you did well to deliver your trains without a whistle."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course."

"Just remember Duncan," chuckled Sir Handel, "an engine's not an engine without a whistle and if the engine can't whistle properly, they shouldn't try at all."

Duncan remained respectly silent for the night, he wasn't the slightest bit happy.


	9. The Runaway Puppets

_**The Runaway Puppets**_

_**Based on "Push Me, Pull You"**_

It was a stormy night on Sodor, all the little engines were having a difficult time getting to sleep. Lightning flashed and the thunder crashed, some engines jumped in fright while others remained calm.

"We'll never get any sleep with this storm around," groaned Sir Handel.

"Maybe one of us should tell a story," said Mac, "that will help to pass the time."

All the engines agreed to that idea, then they turned their attention over to Duke.

"I do know one story," he said, "this goes back to before Peter Sam and Sir Handel came into our old yards."

The engines went silent as Duke began his story.

In the olden days, when Duke worked on the old line, he often worked with other engines, some stayed and some went as time went on. They were all friendly - all except one, who went by the name of Smudger.

Smudger was brash and cocky, he often rode roughly and bounced off the tracks.

The manager knew that Smudger was too reckless, so he decided not to allow him to pull passenger trains or any kind of special.

One day, the manager asked Duke to come to the top station.

"Duke, I need you to take a special to the lakeside station."

"What is it sir?"

"It's a puppet show special, it will be performed at the park."

"Alright sir, I'll be glad to do the job."

However Smudger had overheard and was jealous, "it's not fair," he grumbled, "I should be doing that instead of that old fuddy-duddy!"

Smudger then came up with a sneaky, cheeky idea.

"That's what I'll do, surely I can handle a bunch of puppets."

His crew had gone off to get some lunch, they didn't hear anything from the manager.

"He's asked us to take a puppet show special," said Smudger, as his crew returned.

"I thought that you were never allowed to take those kinds of specials," said his Driver.

"Oh, he's finally decided to give me a chance."

Neither the Driver or Fireman knew that Smudger had just made everything up, nor did they know that Smudger's real job that morning was to take a goods train.

"Okay then, let's get going!" said the fireman.

It wasn't long before Smudger had collected his trucks for the puppet show and soon puffed up the line to the lakeside station.

"This was easy," he smirked to himself, "maybe now the manager will start to see that I'm better for passenger trains than stupid goods trains."

Before long, they reached a junction, where they found Duke, looking cross.

"You stole the puppet show special," he snapped, "that would never suit his grace, now return that train to me!"

"You're not the boss of me," said Smudger, "I'm a much better engine for the job."

"You're going to get in a lot of trouble once the manager finds out!"

"I'm doing this for the manager, you should be greatful!"

Duke was furious, "you listen to me Smudger..."

"No, you listen to me, I'm not giving up this train, I'm going to prove how useful I am. If you want it so badly, come get it! If you can drag me back to the yards, then this train is all yours!"

"Do you think we should Duke?" asked his Driver.

"Just this once, you're going to learn that actions will have consequences Smudger!"

Duke was soon coupled up to the back of the train, he pulled with all his strength, but Smudger was not willing to give up.

"This is my train and you're not taking it away from me!" he cried.

He pulled hard - a little too hard, the coupling between the brake van and the last truck broke!

The voilent jerk knocked Smudger's driver and fireman off the footplate and Smudger started to roll away.

"Ah-ha! I told you that I'm not giving up this train for you!" cried Smudger.

Little did he know, that now he was - a runaway!

Smudger was having a wonderful time, he felt proud of himself with the wind blowing across his funnel.

"One in the old buffer beam for old granpuff," he snickered.

Soon however, he found himself going faster and faster - before he knew it, he found himself going too fast for his own good.

"Okay now slow me down!" he cried.

There came no reply, Smudger gasped when he realised that he had no crew in his cab. The foolish dark green engine rolled on down the line, unable to whistle a cry for help and unable to stop.

"Help me!" he shouted.

Sadly there was nobody to stop him.

Before long, he came by lakeside station, Smudger rolled on threw and ran on into a siding which ended near a small pond.

Smudger plunged into the pond with a big splash, the water went inside his cab and knocked his fire out.

"Oooohhhhh!" he cried, "get me out!"

Duke soon arrived, he wasn't surprised to see where Smudger ended up. Smudger didn't know how the situation could get any worse, that was until he saw a familar face looking at him.

"There's a reason I don't entrust you with these kinds of trains Smudger, and now you know why! I think as a suitable punishment, you can stay in there until I have decided what to do with you."

Duke pulled the rest of the trucks away from the pond, Smudger said nothing.

The puppet show was a huge hit, everyone loved it. After a few days, Duke finally pulled Smudger out of the pond, and hauled him back to the sheds.

"You'll stay in the sheds for a whole week," said the manager.

"Believe me sir, I'm better off here in the sheds for a week instead of being dunked into a pond."

"Sounds similar to what happened to Percy," chuckled Skarloey, "Edward told me about it a few years ago."

"I would agree with Smudger on that one," sulked Duncan, remembering the time he fall into a mud pond.

"That was a great story Granpuff," said Peter Sam, "but I have to ask, did Smudger go for another dunk into the pond again?"

"Only a few more times, Smudger never learned sense."

After a while, the storm stopped and the engines fell asleep, dreaming of past accidents with ponds and rivers.


	10. The Dinosaur Special

_**The Dinosaur Special**_

_**Based on "Rheneas and the Dinosaur"**_

Early one hot summer's morning, the Thin Controller called all of his engines to the transfer yards.

"Just yesterday, some of the volunteers from the Sodor Museum have discovered a whole skelton of a whole dinosaur."

"A dino-what?" asked Peter Sam, he was very confused.

"A dinosaur Peter Sam," said Skarloey, "they were huge creatures that lived a long, long time ago. Sadly they're all gone and now their bones are the only things left of them."

"That's right Skarloey," said the Thin Controller, "now I will reguire two engines to take the special."

"I could do it," said Duncan.

"You?" scoffed Sir Handel, "you're more likely to break the bones before you reach the yards."

"You're one to talk!"

"That's enough you two," snapped the Thin Controller, the two engines went silent, "I have already chosen Skarloey and Rheneas to do the job."

"Thank you sir," said the two old engines.

"Now, I need you two to take the coal trucks down to the Wharf."

Rheneas puffed slowly over to the trucks and buffered up to them gently. Skarloey puffed slowly to the trucks - then there came a loud crack and Skarloey shot forward and rammed into the end of the train.

"Are you okay Skarloey?" asked Rheneas.

"I think so," he called.

The Thin Controller walked up to Skarloey's cab, "what happened Driver?"

"I'm not enterily sure sir," he said, "something broke inside of Skarloey, I think it might have something to do with the brakes or the regulator."

The Thin Controller then went over to see Rheneas.

"Skarloey is going to be going to the works for a while, you don't mind handling the work alone, do you?"

"Of course not sir, I'll do my very best sir."

"That's a good engine."

The Thin Controller then rode away, just as Mighty Mac pushed Skarloey to the front.

"I'm sorry about this old friend," he sighed.

"That's okay, I'll just have to work harder for the both of us."

With that said, Rheneas puffed on his way to take on more water.

It was a lot of hard work, but Rheneas did his very best. He took all the coal to the Wharf on time, then he collected his passengers and Skarloey's too.

The Thin Controller was most impressed with him, "it's no wonder why you're our railway's gallant old engine," he smiled, "Rheneas you have done a fantastic job. Now go get some rest, you're to take the special tomorrow."

Rheneas felt dreadfully nervous all night long. In his younger days, he could pull heavy loads without a problem, but nowadays he couldn't do all that he could.

"I hope Skarloey's repairs are completed before tomorrow."

For the first time in his lifetime, Rheneas felt as scared as a young engine would on their first day.

The next morning, Rheneas puffed on light engine to collect the dinosaur - when he arrived, he found that the dinosaur was bigger than he thought.

"It might be a good idea to wait for Skarloey," he suggested.

"Sorry Rheneas," said his Driver, "but it's better to get started, besides we don't know if Skarloey's repairs are completed."

Rheneas was soon coupled up to the train, and puffed on his way. The dinosaur was heavy but thankfully the journey was all down hill.

Soon however, Rheneas reached 'Culdee Fell' Hill, it was very steep and usually engines needed a back engine to help them to the top.

"I'm sure we can make it up on our own," said the Driver.

"Over confidence won't help this time, when the odds are aganist you," sighed Rheneas.

The old engine puffed on towards the hill, Rheneas could really feel the drag of the train on his buffers. He puffed up, slowly wheel turn by wheel turn, but just before they reached the top, they stopped.

"We're out of water!" cried the Driver.

Rheneas started to roll back down to the bottom of the hill, his Driver braked him as hard as he could - Rheneas stopped right at the bottom of the hill.

"Sorry Rheneas," said his Driver, "I guess I pushed you too hard."

"That's okay, but now we're stuck and the dinosaur special is going to be late."

"I'll go call for help," said the fireman.

As soon as he got the message, he went out to see if any engine could help.

"I can't go right now," groaned Sir Handel, "my brakes are locked!"

"Bother," groaned the Thin Controller, "and there are no other engines left in the yards."

Then he heard a familar whistle, it was Skarloey as he pulled up beside the shed, "is there a problem sir?"

"Yes indeed Skarloey," said the Thin Controller, "Rheneas has run out of water, near 'Culdee Fell' hill and as you're the only engine who doesn't have any work, can you go help him?"

"Right away sir!"

Skarloey quickly set off to the rescue.

Rheneas was still waiting at the bottom of the hill, as Skarloey came up.

"Need a helping hand, old friend?" he asked.

"Yes indeed," called Rheneas, "thanks for coming!"

Skarloey offered up some of his water for Rheneas, then after being coupled up, the two old engines puffed their hardest to the top of the hill.

They rolled smoothly into the transfer yards, just as Thomas arrived with a photographer and a flatbed in tow.

Rheneas and Skarloey were placed on both sides of the dinosaur special, then the photographer took their picture.

"Thanks again old friend," smiled Rheneas, "that's twice now that you've come to my rescue."

"Ah well, I know you would the same for me if I was in trouble."

"That's right," smiled the old engine happily.


	11. Thomas & Charlie

_**Thomas & Charlie**_

_**Based on "Play Time"**_

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and all the engines were working hard.

Thomas the Tank Engine was puffing up to the junction with his two coaches, Annie and Clarabel. Percy was there collecting post from Tom Tipper the postman.

"Hello Percy, guess what? The Fat Controller has given me an important job, I'm to collect Alica Botti."

"I sure hope Alica the Mouse isn't riding along with you," said Percy cheekily. Thomas gave him a dirty look, but he spoilt the effort as he and Percy laughed to that joke, "anyways I've already heard that there's a new engine coming to our railway. I've heard he's a favourite to the Mainland controller and everyone says that he's the most fun engine ever!"

The post was now onboard his train, the guard blew his whistle and Percy set off.

"Come on Thomas, let's get going," said his Driver, "we can't keep Alicia Botti waiting."

Thomas puffed away from the junction, all the while he was thinking about the new engine, "I sure hope I get to meet the new engine."

Soon Thomas had pulled into the docks where Alicia Botti was waiting.

"I sure hope that your mouse isn't riding on my train," she said, Thomas groaned quietly to himself.

"Not to worry," said Thomas' Driver, "we checked before we left the yards, the only one who's going to be riding on this train is you."

"Good."

Ms. Botti walked her way slowly to Annie, just as an unknown tank engine pulled up right next to Thomas, carrying a load of empty flatbeds.

"That must be the new engine," thought Thomas to himself.

"Hello," he said, "I'm Charlie, and you must be Thomas, am I right?"

"Yes but how do you know me?"

"Every engine on the mainland knows about you, our crews read the books and watch the television series about you. In fact all the mainland engines say that you're more fun than me."

Ms. Botti was on board and Thomas was ready to go.

"Say, are you going to the steamworks?" asked Charlie.

"No, I'm heading over to the townhall, why?"

"Well I thought that maybe we could have a race, but I guess that you're not a fun engine after all."

"I am a fun engine," snapped Thomas, "come to think of it, the track I'm taking does pass by the steamworks. Would it be okay driver, if we had a small race?"

"I don't see why not," said his Driver, "but after that, it's off to the townhall Thomas."

"Of course," he said, "I give you my word as a really useful engine."

Thomas and Charlie set off to the next signalbox.

Once there, the engines were lined up side by side, the guard had informed Ms. Botti about the race, she was excited.

"What fun it will be," she said happily.

Thomas and Charlie waited patiently for the signals to change - it felt like ages but at last, both signals dropped and the race of the two tank engines had began.

They raced along, puffing their hardest to be the winner. Alica Botti was having the time of her life, she was having alot of fun, even when they rolled over some bumpy tracks.

"Be careful Thomas, be careful Thomas," cried Annie, "the coupling is coming loose, the coupling is coming loose!"

She was right, the coupling between them was bouncing about wildly, as it tried to slip itself over Annie's coupling hook.

Thomas however took no notice, and neither did his crew, they were enjoying themselves too much.

At last, the two engines puffed into the steamworks together, both were puffed out from their race.

"Okay I take it back," said Charlie, "you are a fun engine after all!"

Thomas was too puffed out to reply back, so he just winked.

The Driver then noticed the time, "oh no, we're running late, we need to get going Thomas!"

Before Charlie could say anything else, Thomas had already backed away from the steamworks and was on his way to the town hall.

As Thomas puffed on his way, the coupling continued to shake and slip on Annie's coupling hook - until at last, it slipped right off.

Thomas hadn't noticed until he came to a lonely signalbox, the signal was red.

"Bother signals," he grumbled, "they're always making me late!"

A signalman came out to see him, "hello Thomas, are you on your way to collect a goods train?"

"No, I'm taking Alica Botti to the townhall."

"I sure hope there's plenty of room in your cab."

"She's riding in Annie," he said angerily.

"Oh really? There where is she and where is Clarabel?"

Thomas looked back and gasped in horror, "Cinders and Ashes! I've lost Annie, Clareabel and Ms. Botti too."

Then he heard the whistle of an engine coming towards him, it was Charlie again.

"Hello Charlie, I would like to race aganist you again, but I can't right now, I've lost the coaches and Ms. Botti."

"Yes I know," he said, "now just take a look behind me."

Thomas' Driver looked, sure enough Charlie had Annie and Clarabel in tow and still riding with them was Ms. Alica Botti.

"Thank you Charlie," smiled Thomas.

Charlie was uncoupled and puffed onto a siding out of the way, while Thomas changed tracks and coupled onto Annie and Clarabel.

They arrived five minutes late, the Fat Controller was not pleased.

"Sir, I'm really sorry for being late but I was...er...ah..."

"Helping me with my job," said Charlie puffing up with a line of milk tankers, "I wasn't sure what to do so I asked Thomas if he could help me."

"Is that true?" the Fat Controller asked Ms. Botti.

"It is indeed, Charlie would still be stuck in the yards had it not been for Thomas."

"Very well then, well done Thomas."

Once Ms. Botti and the Fat Controller walked away, Thomas spoke to Charlie.

"Why didn't you and Ms. Botti tell him the truth that we were racing to the steamworks, then that the chain slipped off the coupling hook?"

"Well we didn't want you to get into trouble, for if the Fat Controller found out that we were racing, so would we, if you know what I mean."

"Yes I do, thank you Charlie."

"Ah what are friends for? Now, what do you say to a little race - back to the yards for some shunting."

"You're on!"

The two engines both raced away from the platforms once their guards had blown the whistles. Thomas was pleased to have a good, fun friend like Charlie.


	12. Off the Rails Again

_**Off the Rails Again**_

_**Based on "Gordon Takes a Tumble"**_

Early one warm summer's morning, Gordon and Percy were waiting for the passengers, who had come on the ocean liner. As they waited, Salty the Dockside diesel pulled up with some trucks.

"Watch out!" Gordon huffed, "you're going to get my paint all dirty."

"Shunting trucks is a dirty job, but it is an important job too."

"Not for an engine like me, it wouldn't be dignified!"

"Dingi-fried?" asked a confused Percy, "what does that mean?"

"Dignified!" correct Gordon, "it means..."

"It means Gordon's too big for his own buffers," teased Salty.

"Pah!" sniffed Gordon crossly and puffed away as soon as the guard had blown his whistle.

That night, a thick fog started to roll in from the sea, making things most difficult for both Duck and Salty. They tried their best, but with zero visibility, all the sidings were jammed with trucks.

When the Fat Controller heard this, he went to find some engines to help. The only ones available were Thomas, Percy, Henry and Gordon.

"I need all of you to go to the docks and help with the heavy workloads."

"Yes sir," they all said. Then the Fat Controller turned to the big blue doncaster engine, "you too Gordon! I need a big engine to move the trucks out of the way."

"Trucks?" he gasped, he couldn't believe what he had heard.

"Come on Gordon," said his Driver, "orders are orders."

Gordon sulked his way to the docks.

Gordon was not happy to be pulling trucks, he had to wait while Thomas, Salty, Duck and Percy shunted them into place, while he and Henry took the trains out of the way.

"Hurry up Percy!" he snapped, "hurry up!"

"Hurry yourself!" he snapped back.

"What's the rush Gordon?" asked Thomas.

"If I must pull trucks, then I'll show Salty how express engines pull trucks!"

"Careful captain!" tooted Salty, "you don't want to get too big for your buffers and come off the rails."

"For the second time in a row," chuckled Henry.

Gordon simply ignored Henry and Salty as he set off with his first train.

Gordon pulled goods trains all through the night until at last, there was only one train left to take before returning back to the sheds for a rest.

"Now maybe Salty will learn to treat me with a little respect," he puffed.

A signalman at a junction was enjoying a nice cup of tea and had forgotten that Gordon was due by any second. When he saw Gordon coming, he tripped over himself and fell onto the wrong lever sending Gordon down an old branch line.

"Oh no," groaned the signalman, "heavy goods trains aren't suppose to go that way!"

It was too late to warn Gordon and his crew, they were already racing into the distance.

The old branch line was weak and rusty, there were signs warning all trains to go slow. Gordon however was in a hurry and wasn't in the mood to slow down.

"The sooner I get this work done, the better!"

"Easy there Gordon, easy!" cried his Driver.

Gordon ignored him and went even faster. The old line couldn't take his weight for too much longer and the speed made things worse. At last the rails gave way!

"Oh HELP!" Gordon cried, as he and his trucks slid off the tracks and into a field. First Gordon rolled on into a pile of earth, then he bashed into a pile of tires - the force of the blow seperated him from his tender. Gordon's little run continued on threw a barn and into a field in a front of a scarecrow.

The crew weren't hurt and neither was the guard, he was just a little dizzy. Gordon was okay but he felt very 'undignified'.

Gordon's crew dropped the fire, then went for help. Help soon came, along with the Fat Controller.

"Gordon, I know you're not to blame for what happened back at the junction, but your rushing on the branch line is another story. I've also heard that you wanted to show Salty a thing or two and you have done that - you've shown him how silly it is, to ignore 'go slow' signs."

"Yes sir, sorry sir," sighed Gordon unhappily.

Before long, Gordon was repaired and sent back to work. He had to pull goods trains for a while as a punishment, before returning to the front of the express.

He felt unhappy with himself as he pulled into the docks.

"We all make mistakes Gordon," said Thomas, "even me."

"And sometimes we do go overboard, when it comes to making our points clear," said James, "anyways, Salty told me to tell you that he's sorry for teasing you."

"Well I'm sorry myself - for getting too big for my buffers."

Everyone laughed at Gordon's joke, while Gordon himself smiled brightly.


	13. James Askes For Too Much

_**James Askes For Too Much**_

_**Based on "James and the Trouble with Trees" and "James' Rest Cure"**_

James was feeling grumpy, "it's not fair, why is it that engines like Edward, Henry and Gordon get to see all the splendid sights and for everyone to see their smart paintowork? While a splendid red engine like me is stuck in the yard shunting dirty trucks?"

"We all have shunting duties from time to time," said Thomas, "we can't all be expected to get long runs all the time."

"Pah!" snorted James, "what I need is a change and a chance to have a long run, so then everyone will see my splendid red paint."

That afternoon, Thomas was called away from his branch line to help down at the coaling plant, when he was done, the little blue tank engine was covered from smoke box to bunker in dirty coal dust.

"Not again," he groaned.

"Well at least it's not as bad as the last time," said his Driver.

"Can I please have a wash before we return home?"

"Sorry Thomas, but there's a problem with the hosepipe, it'll have to wait till tomorrow."

Thomas groaned to himself, he knew by then, the other engines would have their chance to tease him about being dirty.

When he got back to the sheds, he was surprised to find that the engines weren't taking any interest into him. James was bragging the loudest.

"I'm finally getting the long runs I've been hoping for, plus I'm getting a new coat of paint. The Fat Controller must think that I'm the pride of the line."

"Rubbish James," huffed Henry, "we are all the pride of the line."

"It's been like this all day," Percy whispered to Thomas, "James is getting his long run tomorrow and a new coat of paint, so now he won't shut up about it."

"Why James? I'm the one who needs a new coat of paint, look at me!"

"I'd rather not," scoffed James, taking a quick look over to Thomas, "you're not a splendid sight and would never understand the needs of a real important engine like myself!"

Thomas seethed in anger, while James continued on bragging.

The next morning was bright and sunny, James was happy to get his new coat of paint. Henry was working nearby, he had to shunt his own trucks as Duck was busy elsewhere.

As he was shunting his trucks, one of them bounced off the tracks, followed by some more trucks.

James was nearby and couldn't help but laugh, "if you can't handle trucks properly Henry, why don't you go hug a tree, you know much you like the forest."

"Engines can't hug trees!"

"Okay then, go talk to them!"

"For your information bossy boiler, the Fat Controller has closed the tracks to the forest."

"Why's that?"

"Some of those trees are too close to the line, he's worried they could cause trouble."

"Pah!" laughed James, "if a tree came running in front of me, I would just push it aside!"

"Oh really? I'd sure like to see you do just that!"

Later on James was passing through a clear line of the forest, light engine, he wanted to show off his new paint work to Thomas and Percy.

"Just look at me, a real splendid engine!"

"You wouldn't feel splendid if one of those trees fell on you," said Percy, "you'd feel hurt."

"Rubbish Percy!"

"You should take care James," advised Terence, "trees can be just as powerful and as strong as engines."

James just ignored them and puffed off to collect his passenger train.

At first James was enjoying his long runs, but presently he grew bored.

"I want a change!" he grumbled.

"Sorry James," said his Driver, "but we have to do as we have been told."

Edward was nearby and he heard what James said, "if you want James, I'll take the passengers and you can do my job."

James was interested, "what sort of job is it?"

"Collecting coal trucks from the docks and taking them to the big station."

"Trucks?"

James hated the idea of working with trucks, still he did want a change so he agreed to the idea.

James helped with the coal trucks all day, until at last there was one train left to take. By then, the weather had changed as dark grey clouds hung over head.

"Your color is nice James," said one of the trucks, "pity about your face though!"

All the other trucks giggled, James simply ignored them and carried on down the line.

James puffed his way into the forest, the Driver eased him off, "oh well this is a nice change," thought James to himself.

Up ahead, there was a lonely old tree hanging close to the line. It was being blown by the strong winds and the rain had weakened the soil on the slope.

As James approached it, the tree began to move on it's own.

James' driver braked hard, thankfully he stopped with inches to spare.

"Oh help!" cried James, "get out of my way, stupid tree!"

Of course the tree wasn't going to move - not just yet! James' driver threw his engine into reserve, but with the weight of the trucks behind him, getting away was impossible.

Then they heard a whistle, "it's Thomas!" shouted James' fireman.

Sure enough it was Thomas, puffing along light engine to collect some trucks. James thought he was going to tease him about being scared of a tree, but Thomas didn't.

"Peep! Peep! I'm ready!" called Thomas.

"So am I!" called James nervously.

Thomas pulled with all his might, James pushed back as much as he could - no sooner had they started, then the tree fell with inches away from James' buffer beams.

"That was too close," groaned James.

For the remainder of the day, James pulled his coal trucks with no fuss and no complaining.

Later on, he met up with Thomas back at the yards, "Percy and Terence were right to warn me about the trees, thank you for helping me Thomas."

"Oh that's okay," he said, "I'm just glad I could help."

Edward then pulled into the yards, "so James did you enjoy your long runs today?"

"It was okay," said James, "but I think for now I'm looking forward to just sticking with the job I get, I got a little more than what I was hoping for."

"Then you don't mind pulling the passengers tomorrow?" asked a voice, it was the Fat Controller.

"I don't mind sir."

"Excellent," then he looked over to Thomas, "I think you deserve a new coat of paint after all the hard work you have done and for your brave rescue earlier today."

"Oh thank you sir," said Thomas happily.

When he got home that night, James heard the other engines talking.

"Who's this dirty little engine?" asked Gordon.

"It's James," chuckled Henry, "looks like he got the long runs he had hoping for, after all."

James sulked quietly and pretended he hadn't heard at all.


	14. A Jealous James

_**A Jealous James**_

_**Based on "Thomas and the Billboard"**_

Early one morning, Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Toby, Emily and Diesel were all gathered at Tidmouth sheds.

"What's going on here?" asked Henry.

"It's a special photograph for a new billboard," said Edward, "the Fat Controller was telling me that yesterday."

Now the engines were excited. A photographer arrived with a big camera, "Thomas could you move back a bit?"

"Oh sure," he said, so Thomas was backed up

Then the photographer asked Percy to move forward a bit, "now Diesel could you move forward a little bit?"

"Yes right away," so his Driver moved him forward - right in front of James, he had no idea that Diesel was blocking him from the camera's view.

"Alright everyone, smile!"

The engines smiled and the camera flashed, "that was wonderful," said the photographer, "thank you all of you."

A few days later, the Fat Controller told James to collect the new billboard poster from Maithwaite station.

"I can't wait to see it," he smiled.

"I know how you feel James," said his Driver.

Once his fire had been lit, James puffed on his way to Maithwaite. He was going have to wait, as the poster was sitting inside of a truck.

"Never mind, we'll get to see it when we get to Knapford," smiled the fireman.

It didn't take long to get to the station, James could see the empty billboard waiting for it's new poster. The workmen quickly unloaded it from the van, then they brought it over to the billboard.

"Even if Diesel is in there, it'll still look magnificent."

As the poster was rolled out, James could see all the engines, all - except him!

"That DIESEL!" he snapped, "he's blocked me out of the picture! He did that on purpose!"

James was so cross that he blew steam all over the place, "Don't do that!" cried the photographer, "the ink on the paper will get ruined by the steam, there's no protective paper on that poster!"

He was right, James' steam had indeed ruined the poster, instead of looking like a masterpiece - it was now a ruined picture.

"I shall have to inform the Fat Controller about this, you silly engine!"

James was upset.

"I can understand that this was just a minor accident James," said the Fat Controller that night at the sheds, "and the photographer has agreed to take another picture, I want you to inform all the engines tomorrow afternoon."

"Yes sir," said James.

Then he had a thought, "if Diesel knows about the new picture, he'll try to ruin it again. I won't tell him, it'll just be the eight of us!"

That however was easier said than done, as James went about to do his jobs for the day, he spotted Diesel.

"I sure hope he doesn't find out about the new photograph," he thought to himself.

"Should we tell Diesel about the new photograph?" asked the fireman.

"Ah...there's no need to, I...ah, already told him last night, when he came by the yards."

"Alright then, in that case, we just need to inform the other engines," said the Driver.

Throughout the rest of the monring, whenever James spotted one of the other engines, he told them to go to the sheds for the new photograph, all the while doing all could not to tell Diesel.

"My plan is working," chuckled James to himself, "Diesel can't ruin this picture if he's not in it, this will teach him a lesson."

He said it quietly to himself.

Finally by the afternoon, all the engines had gathered once again at the sheds, James was one of the last engines to join.

"Perfect," he smirked, "with no Diesel around, no one is going to block me out of the picutre this time."

The photographer was about to take the picture, when he asked "where's Diesel?"

"Oh ah, I guess he must be busy," James answered.

"Oh well, here goes..."

Then they all heard the sounds of a diesel motor - Diesel rumbled into view with a train of scrap metal.

"What's going on here?" he asked angerily, "nobody told me that there was going to be another photograph."

"James told me that he already told you," said James' Driver.

All eyes looked over to James, "oh no, I'm in trouble again aren't I?"

"Busted!" called Thomas, "and when I say busted, I mean busted with a capital 'B'!"

"James," said the Fat Controller, "do you mind explaining yourself?"

"Well you see, the main reason I ruined the last poster was because Diesel moved in front of me on purpose, I wasn't even shown on the last poster."

"I did not, the photographer told me to move forward."

"I did," he said, "I guess you rolled a little too far."

"All this was because of a little misunderstanding?" asked Gordon angerily.

"Jealously is a terrible thing," agreed Henry.

Once Diesel was shunted into place, and when all the engines were in their proper places, the photographer took the picture.

"Sir, I'm really sorry for the way I've been acting. I'll do any job you ask me to do without fuss."

"In that case, you can collect the next train of scrap metal and do some shunting at the smelters, while Diesel goes to collect the poster once it's ready."

So for the rest of the day, James did some shunting work around the smelters, he wanted to complain but he had promised not to.

Finally when the poster was ready, Diesel collected it and brought it to Knapford. Once it was on the billboard, the photographer placed the special paper on there to protect it.

"Wonderful," smiled Diesel happily.

That night, the poster was revealed at a special party, all the engines agreed the poster looked magnificent.

Even James had to agree, "not bad," he said, "although it would have been better if it was just me."

I guess there are some things about James that just won't change.


	15. Rheneas' Wild Mountain Ride

_**Rheneas' Wild Mountain Ride**_

_**Based on "Rheneas and the Roller Coaster"**_

Rheneas is one of the oldest engines to work on the Thin Controller's railway. He was the second engine to come just after Skarloey. He loves working on the line, he says he wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Early one morning, the Thin Controller was talking to Rheneas.

"Some school children are going to be riding on board your train today, it was a request of a dear friend of mine, who happens to be the teacher of those students."

"I could have taken the train myself," scoffed Sir Handel.

"With your most recent behaviour, you're lucky I'm not sending you down to the Stone Quarry!"

Sir Handel groaned quietly, he didn't like the stone quarry one bit.

"Don't worry sir," smiled Rheneas, "I promise that I won't let you down."

"There's a good engine, I know I can always count on you."

Rheneas was soon pulling into the station, Rusty was nearby waiting for the workmen to board his train.

"I'd be careful if I were you Rheneas," he said, "there are some children who are a little grumpy."

Rusty was sadly right, three school boys were cross, "we wanted to go to the city, not ride into the mountains with an outdated engine."

"Don't you worry Rusty," said Rheneas with spirit, "they'll calm down once we get started."

"Alright then, take care."

Rheneas soon departed from the station as soon as the guard's whistle blew.

"Off we go! Off we go!" he said happily.

However the three boys still weren't happy.

Rheneas puffed along through the mountains, his Driver and fireman took turns telling the children about the rich history of the line.

"This is dull," grumbled one of the boys, "we want to go back to school!"

All their grumbling was starting to get Rheneas mad - for a while. They complained again and again at each location, at times their teacher would tell them to calm down, but they wouldn't listen to her.

"We want to go back to school!"

"I'm really sorry Rheneas," said the teacher, "these boys are always like this."

"Oh that's okay," he said, "it doesn't bother me that much, although those words do hurt."

"Come on Rheneas," said his Driver, "time to go."

The boys grumbled dreadfully as they climbed back into the coach, the other children and the teacher got back in and Rheneas puffed on his way.

Further down the line, Rusty and the workmen were looking over some tracks that had been damaged by heavy rains.

"These lines are too bumpy and uneven, we'll need to close the line for repairs."

At that time, Rheneas was puffing along, he could still hear the boys grumbling.

As they appoarched the junction, they heard a loud crack - the driver tried to apply the brakes but to his horror, they weren't working. Worst still, Rheneas was now puffing along on the damaged tracks.

"Rheneas, stop!" Rusty cried, "the line is closed for repairs, they're uneven!"

There was nothing Rheneas or his crew could do as they rattled on through the mountains, flying along at dangerous speeds.

The boys were surprised by the speed and the ride they were getting, "now this is fun!" they said.

At times, Rheneas nearly derailed but he managed to stay on the tracks. The guard tried his brake but it was useless at this point. Rheneas continued to rattle along, the boys and some of the other students were having the time of their lives, while the teacher was going green in the face.

Finally Rheneas pulled into the station, by now he had used up all his coal going threw the mountains and he came to a slow stop right by the platform.

"Whew!" remarked the teacher, "that was just a little too thrilling."

The students climbed out of the coach and spoke to Rheneas, even the three grumbling boys spoke to him.

"Thank you for the wonderful ride," they said, "we're going to tell our friends to come visit your railway, it's amazing!"

Rheneas was pleased to hear, especailly coming from the three boys.

That night, Rheneas told Skarloey all about his wild adventure, just before he was go to the works.

"It was fun I'll admit," he was saying, "but I think that wild mountain ride was more than excitment for me today."


	16. James and the Poster of Sodor

_**James & the Poster of Sodor**_

_**Based on "James the Second Best"**_

The engines of the Sodor Railway were working their hardest, whether it was goods or passengers, they did their job without complaining. All that was, except for James.

"It's not fair," he grumbled, "I shouldn't have to shunt my own trucks! In fact I shouldn't even be pulling trucks!"

"You're a mixed traffic engine remember?" said Thomas in a cheeky way, "besides the last time you refused to shunt, you, Gordon and Henry were shut up in the sheds, you don't to go through that again, do you?"

James said no more and puffed on his way with his dirty coal trucks.

"He's getting cross," said the trucks, "let's get him crosser! Hold back! Hold back!"

James struggled on, until at last he was done with his work.

"Who's the dirty engine?" asked Henry, "it almost looks like James."

"That's because it is me," he grumbled, "I've been pulling dirty coal trucks all day, I shouldn't have to take these stupid trucks, this is the kind of job, old iron Edward should be doing."

"Edward has his own jobs to do, or did you forget that he has a branch line?"

James went silent.

He was soon getting his wash, when Percy came pulling up.

"Being a really useful engine huh James?" he joked, "maybe you should take goods trains more often."

James said nothing as the workmen continued with his wash.

Soon he was gathered with the other engines at Knapford yards, the Fat Controller was there with a photographer.

"This photographer is going to take a picture of one of you for the many posters of our railway," he was saying.

James hoped that he was going to be chosen, he could almost imagine seeing himself as the 'poster engine', "oh how wonderful I would look."

"I have decided to let Edward be the poster engine this year," said the Fat Controller.

"Oh thank you sir," smiled Edward.

James however was in complete shock, "what? That old iron, the poster engine?"

Feeling his postion deeply, James pulled away from the yards and headed off for the open main line.

After a couple of days, the posters could easily be seen all across the Island. People would come by the dozens to see Edward, and this made James cross.

"What's so special about Edward, he's just an old crank!"

"Not true James," said Henry, "he's very polite and he can handle the trucks with no trouble."

"He's always on time with his trains too," said Percy, "and he never complains."

"You on the other hand, are the opposite of Edward," said Thomas cheekily, "I'm surprised to hear you talk about Edward like that, after what he did for you when you were a runaway."

"Yes I am grateful for what he did, but still I don't think it's fair that Edward got to be the poster engine."

With that said, James puffed on his way.

The next day, James tried to do some of the many jobs Edward would normally do and try to do better, but he couldn't keep to time and was often running late and often came into the yards dirty.

By the late afternoon, James was so dirty that he wasn't on time for his next train, so Edward had to take his passengers.

"There's got to be some way I can show everyone that I'm just as good as old iron Edward."

"Watch yourself James," advised his Driver, "you have a huge track record that usual leads you into some serious trouble as it usually does."

James was still not paying attention.

"Maybe taking the passengers will cheer you up," said the fireman, "but we'll have to go to Maithwaite to collect our coaches."

Soon James was out on the open line, travelling along light engine. He was meant to wait on one of the sidings, but a signalman had dozed off and pushed on the wrong lever, sending James onto Edward's line.

"Oh my," gasped James.

The worst was to come, hearing Edward's loud whistle woke the signalman up, he qucikly set the signal to red. James' Driver slammed on his brakes and James came to a smooth stop, but Edward couldn't stop in time and he went crashing into the back of James.

He pushed James along - straight into one of the posters!

"Are you alright James?" asked Edward.

"I'm okay, I only crashed into a poster and now I'm derailed, other than that, I'm fine!"

"Nice sarcasm James," groaned the Driver.

Just then Thomas and Emily arrived on the lower tracks.

"Well James, you wanted to be a poster engine," chuckled Thomas, "and now you are!"

"You should be feeling honored!" added Emily.

James pretended he hadn't heard, especially when he heard the Fat Controller calling out to him.

"I know the accident wasn't your fault James," he said, "but from what I've heard you have been complaining and I like to know why."

"Well I was upset that Edward got to be the poster engine and I wasn't, why did you pick him sir?"

"Because he deserved it, for all the hard work he has done."

"I understand now sir, I must be a disapointment to you and the other engines, I'm always complaining about taking trucks, I'm sometimes late with my trains and I often make a fool out of myself - like right now."

"Oh James, you couldn't be more wrong, while at times you do cause trouble, you're never a disapointment to me. The reason I bought you all those years ago was because of your reliablity and your usefulness. There are plenty of times when you have come through to help."

"Like when Gordon was switched off the main line onto the loop," said Thomas, "you took over the express to give him a rest."

"Or how about when the inspector needed a ride to see the Fat Controller," added Thomas' Driver, "you got the inspector to Knapford in record timing."

"Or how about the time you helped Diesel while taking coal trucks?" added his own Driver.

"You've done so much for the railway James," said Emily, "you're not a disapoinment."

Just then Edward's driver called out, "Sir, Edward's cylinders have been damaged threw the impact, he's not going anywhere today."

"Oh yes he will," called James, "I'll be Edward's back engine, if that's okay with you sir."

"Of course it is James," smiled the Fat Controller, "do us proud!"

That's just what James did, he pushed with all his might. Edward and his coaches were heavy, but James was determined.

Soon they pulled into Lower Suddery station, there a lot of excited passengers waiting on the platform, they were pleased to see Edward. They were also pleased to see James helping him.

"Edward, I'm sorry for calling you an old iron engine, you are just as useful as the rest of us."

"Oh that's okay James," he smiled, "now don't you ever start thinking that you aren't as useful as the rest of us, cause you are a really useful engine."

James smiled happily, "thank you Edward!"

From that day onwards, James never once complained about Edward and stopped calling him an old iron. He still complains from time to time, because he is that sort of engine, but no matter he does his best to help out in a tight spot.


	17. A Special for Sir Handel

_**A Special for Sir Handel**_

_**Based on "Sir Handel in Charge"**_

Sir Handel is one of the many original engines that had worked on the old line with Duke. He's learned alot from Duke, but I'm sad to say that his behaviour hasn't changed a bit. It was thanks to his behaviour that the Thin Controller sent him away to the stone quarry for over a year, before being brought back.

When he did come back, he showed the other engines that he had changed, although some of them didn't think that there were any changes to him at all.

One morning, he pulled into the transfer yards to find James looking cross.

"What's the matter James?" he asked, "did you see another tree on your line?"

"Ha-ha," he snapped sarcastically, "for your information, I'm suppose to take your controller to an important meeting with the Fat Controller."

The Thin Controller soon arrived, "I'm sorry that I'm late, I got a flat tire a short while ago."

James only sulked, "now I'm going to be late with my next train, I'm suppose to be a spendid engine, not a taxi."

"Oh don't over excited," chuckled Sir Handel, "that's only going to lead you to trouble."

The Thin Controller then directed his attention over to Sir Handel, "I have a very important special that needs to be ready before Thomas shows up, Sir Handel I'm leaving you in charge of it."

Sir Handel listened in carefully to the basic instructions, "also I will reguire an engine to collect the workmen from the forest after they had done their job."

"Don't you worry sir, I'll make sure to find the best engines to do the jobs."

"Ask the first engine you see Sir Handel," he said sternly, "now I hope to find the train all ready for Thomas by the time I come back."

"Yes sir," said Sir Handel grandly.

"Maybe you should think on asking Duke, Skarloey or Rheneas," said James, "knowing Sir Handel, he's going to mess it up."

Sir Handel just ignored James' rude comment and puffed on his way.

He puffed into the forest, where he found Mighty Mac and some workmen who were replacing the tracks.

"I thought that was Rusty's job," sniffed Sir Handel.

"Normally yes," said Mighty.

"But the Thin Controller gave us the job today," said Mac, "Rusty's busy taking Skarloey's passengers while he is at the works for his inspection."

"Very well then, carry on with your work."

Sir Handel puffed on his way, "I guess the Thin Controller has already given out most of the jobs this morning," said his Driver.

"Maybe there isn't anything for me to do," sighed Sir Handel.

"Oh I wouldn't say that, after all we still have that special that needs to be collected for Thomas."

A short while later, Sir Handel found Rusty dropping off passengers, "I'm done here," he said, "but now I don't know I can do, the Thin Controller never told me what he wanted me to do next."

"Maybe you could collect the workmen and take them to the forest," he then explained about the special.

"I'm on my way," said Rusty and rumbled off.

Sir Handel soon puffed into the transfer yards, Thomas was waiting there.

"Where's my special?" he asked, "I'm going to be late getting back to my branch line."

"Oh bugger," groaned Sir Handel, "I forgot all about asking an engine to bring the special down here. Don't worry Thomas, the next engine I see, I'll ask if they can bring the special to you."

"Alright but please hurry, otherwise I'm won't make it for my granateed connection."

Sir Handel puffed away quickly.

As he puffed along, he looked for other engines to help but he couldn't find anyone, anywhere.

"Oh where are they?"

"Look ahead," cried his Driver.

Duncan was coming down the twisty tracks with Peter Sam in tow.

"I broke down while taking slate trucks, Duke is taking my train and Duncan is taking me to the Wharf."

"It's been a slow day for me," said Duncan, "the Thin Controller hasn't given me any jobs at all this morning, I was going to ask what my jobs are for today, but he just rode off in a hurry."

"That's because he had to gone off to a meeting with the Fat Controller," said Sir Handel's Driver.

"Listen Duncan, I need your help, there's a special waiting in the forest that needs to go to the transfer yards for Thomas."

"No problem," said Duncan, "it won't take me long to get the special to the transfer yards."

"That's good."

Sir Handel puffed on his way to do his jobs, while Duncan puffed off with Peter Sam.

Duncan was right, it didn't take long to get the special to Thomas.

"Phew! Just in time," gasped Sir Handel.

At that moment, James returned to collect some empty coal trucks, he also brought with him - the Thin Controller.

"Well done Sir Handel," he said, "you have done a good job."

"Yes indeed," agreed Thomas, "now I won't be late."

"I guess I was wrong about you Sir Handel," said James, "looks like you can do the job without messing it up."

"Well thank you, coming from you James, that means a lot," then he added in a cheeky way, "at least I've done a better job than you."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

Sir Handel said nothing, he just chuckled quietly to himself - same old Sir Handel.


	18. The Kite in the Hills

_**The Kite in the Hills**_

_**Based on "Thomas and the Runaway Kite"**_

It was a very windy day, and today was the day of a kite festival. Lots of people had entered into the compitation, from children to adults.

Many of the engines loved watching kites fly, but Peter Sam was the one engine who loved kites more than anyone else.

As he pulled into the small station, he spotted Skarloey collecting passengers from Henry's passenger train.

"There's more passengers on my train than the usual amount on Gordon's express," said Henry.

"It's probably because of the kite flying compitation," said Skarloey, "that's been the main topic of discussion for the last few weeks."

"Some engines are excited and then there are others who don't," said Peter Sam, "and I think you know who I'm talking about."

"Sir Handel and Duncan," said Skarloey and Henry in unison.

It was at that moment that Duncan came up with some extra passenger coaches, "pah! I don't know why people like kites so much. They're just pieces of paper flying in the sky on a string."

"Kites are more than that!" snapped Peter Sam, "they can beautiful with some beautiful designs."

"If you ask me, people are wasting their time with kite flying."

At last, the passengers had boarded Skarloey's train and he puffed on his way as soon as his guard had blown his whistle. Peter Sam was next to follow, he was cross with Duncan.

"He hates anything that doesn't make him look like the king of the rails," he grumbled.

"Well that's Duncan," said his Driver, "sometimes he lets that attitude go to his funnel, remember when he lost his whistle or how about the time he got trapped in the mine?"

"Too true, the best thing to do is to ignore him when he's boasting off."

Soon he was pulling up to the Percival house, he was watching the twins fly their kite. It had a unique design and three different colors, blue, red and yellow.

"What a wonderful kite you got there."

"Thank you Peter Sam."

Just then, the wind blew hard and took the kite far away from the twins, "oh bother, and that was our best kite ever!"

Peter Sam felt sad for the two kids, "don't worry, I'll look for your kite, I'll do my best to get it back."

"Thank you Peter Sam," they both called together.

However that was easier said than done, as Peter Sam puffed along with his trains, he could the kite flying in front of him - but everytime he got close, the wind would blow it away.

"This wind is teasing us," groaned Peter Sam, "just like what Gordon and Thomas said."

As he puffed along with his train, Fearless Freddie came up beside him with some slate trucks, "What are you doing today Peter Sam?"

"I'm taking this train and trying to catch that kite! It flew away from the Percival twins."

"I could help you if you want, if it blows into the mountains, I can follow the track right to it."

"Thank you Freddie, but I wouldn't want you to be late with your job. Besides that, I'll catch up with it soon."

"Good luck then," said Freddie as he puffed down another line to the transfer yards.

Peter Sam continued on with the kite in his sight, until the wind blew it out of sight.

"Oh well, there's nothing we can do Peter Sam," said his Driver, "we need to get to the Wharf with this load."

Peter Sam soon arrived at the Wharf and shunted his trucks into place, then he was backed onto a train of empty coal trucks.

Rheneas puffed up with a long train of pipes, he could Peter Sam was going red in the face.

"Are you feeling okay Peter Sam?"

"I'm okay Rheneas, I've just been racing along with my train and chasing after a kite," he then explained about what happened.

"If you want, I can help keep a look out for it."

"Thanks for the offer, but I can do this myself, besides I wouldn't want you to be delayed because of me and my promise."

Before Rheneas could say anymore, Peter Sam puffed on his way with his coal trucks, just as Charlie pulled into the Wharf with a train of logs.

"What's Peter Sam's rush?" he asked.

Rheneas explained about Peter Sam's promise to the Percival twins.

"Funny you should mention the kite, cause I did see it fly around just before I got into the Wharf."

At that moment, the kite flew over the building and flew past Charlie and Rheneas.

"It's going over to Colin!" cried Rheneas' Driver.

Colin saw the kite fly past him - just as the wind dived down and fall right in front of him.

"Where did this kite come from?" he asked.

Just as his operator was going to pick it up, the wind blew from underneath it and lifted up into the sky and away from the Wharf.

"Teasing winds," groaned the operator.

Out on the line, Peter Sam was still looking around for the kite, "where is it?"

Peter Sam pulled up by a signal, it had turned red. As he waited, Sir Handel pulled up from the other direction with loaded coal trucks.

"I swear the workload at the mines is getting heavier these days," he sulked, "Duke and I are freshed off our wheels over there."

Then he noticed that Peter Sam's face was red, "what's the matter with you?"

"Would you believe that I'm on the chase for a..."

Before he could anything more, he saw the kite coming towards him. His fireman jumped out in hopes of grabbing it, but then Sir Handel blew off some steam and blew the kite high into the sky.

"Oh no," groaned Peter Sam, "it's gotten away again."

"That's what you've been chasing?" asked Sir Handel, "it's a waste of time, if you ask me."

"Well nobody was, I'm chasing that kite for the Percival twins."

The signal changed to green, Peter Sam and his trucks raced away very quickly, "hey Peter Sam, if you want to continue your chase, you might want to refill your bunker before you run out!"

Peter Sam was too far away to hear Sir Handel.

Soon he came into a valley and there in front of him on the tracks, was the kite!

"Finally, we got you now!" he cried.

He puffed closer and closer to it, but he was going slower and slower - until at last, he came to a complete stop.

"What happened?"

"You've run out of coal Peter Sam," called his fireman.

"Oh no," he groaned, then he looked down to the kite, "please get that kite before the wind blows it away again!"

Peter Sam's Driver climbed down from the cab and ran to the kite, but the wind got to it first and blew it away out of sight once more.

"Oh that's just great, now we're stuck," groaned the fireman.

"And we don't have the kite either," sighed Peter Sam, "we've let the Percival twins down."

They were just wondering on what they can do next, when they spotted Duke coming towards them with more coal trucks, "what's wrong youngster?"

"I've run out of coal and I've also broken my promise," he then explained about his promise to the twins, "and now I'm going to be late with this train."

"You can take some of the coal we just brought from the mines," said Duke, "we've got plenty of it."

"Thank you Granpuff."

Peter Sam's Driver and fireman brought some of the coal from the first truck and placed the coal inside his bunker, then the fireman lit a new fire and before long, Peter Sam was steaming again.

"Well I better get going, I don't think we'll find the kite again."

"You never know," said Duke's Driver, "it might just appear out of nowhere."

"I could keep an eye out for it," said Duke, "and I'll let some of the other engines know and ask them to keep a look out for it."

"Thank you Granpuff."

Soon Peter Sam was steaming along, he delivered his trucks to the coal mines, then he puffed on his way 'light engine' back to the Wharf, when from out of nowhere, there was the kite!

"We'll get it this time," cried the Driver.

Then it disappeared out of sight once more, thankfully they didn't have far to look. The kite flew past a signalbox, then it caught on one of the signals.

"I'll get it down!" It was Duke' Driver.

The signalman brought out a ladder and held it steady for Duke's Driver. He brought it down and handed it to Peter Sam's crew.

"Let's get this kite back to the kids," said Peter Sam, "thank you Granpuff."

"I'm glad to have helped."

The twins were at the compitation, both looked sad - until they saw Peter Sam coming towards them and whistling loudly. The Driver gave them the kite, they thanked them greatly.

"Don't thank us," said the Driver, "you should be thanking Peter Sam."

"Actually, it wasn't just me, it was all of us."

"Well thank you to everyone," they both said.

The kite was soon flying high in the air, the twins were once again happy. And Peter Sam, felt very proud to have helped and kepted up with his promise. Duncan and Sir Handel however still grumbled about kites, but then again - it is a common thing for them to complain, some engines never change.


	19. A Windy Problem

_**A Windy Problem**_

_**Based on "Percy and the Magic Carpet" and "Gale Warning"**_

It was a very windy day on Sodor, but today it was no ordinary wind, this was a gale. The engines worked hard but it was hard to keep up with the wind blowing into their faces.

At the Fat Controller's house, Lady Hatt was telling the Fat Controller that they needed new roof tiles, as some had been blown away by the wind.

"I'll get someone to put up new ones as soon as the gale has died down," he said.

At that moment, the telephone rang, the Fat Controller answered it.

"A special load is it? So important that you can't tell me what it is? Well I'll send one of my engines to collect it."

At the sheds, Henry was teasing James, reminding him of the time he went for a spin on the turntable on the other end of the line.

"You might want to be careful, unless you want to go spinning like a top again."

"Ha-ha," sniffed James crossly, "you're a real joker aren't you? At least I don't go sticking myself in a tunnel when the rain is coming down."

Both engines went quiet as they saw the Fat Controller's car arrive.

"There's a special waiting down at the docks, it needs to get to Maithwaite station without delay," he paused impressively, "Percy, you can collect the special."

"Yes sir," he smiled happily.

"Please be careful as you go along, the gale's wind is blowing hard today and it could cause trouble."

"Don't worry sir," said Percy's Driver, "we'll be careful."

The Fat Controller then gave out the other jobs to the other engines, then he drove on his way. After he left, Gordon and James sulked quietly to themselves.

"It can't be that special, otherwise I would have been sent," sniffed Gordon.

"No, I would have been sent," said James crossly, "a spendid red engine is the right engine for the job."

"Unless it involves tar wagons," chuckled Henry.

Percy and his driver decided it would be a good idea to leave. Percy was overall excited to see what the special was - he was disappointed to see that it was just a carpet.

"Why am I taking a carpet?"

"I guess they perfer rails instead of the roads," sighed the Driver, "still a job's a job Percy."

Percy waited for the workmen to tie down the carpet, then he puffed away. As he puffed along, the wind blew on the ropes, trying to blow the carpet away.

Soon Percy arrived at a junction where Gordon was waiting to go to the works for his inspection. When he saw Percy's special, he chuckled quietly to himself.

"Now it makes perfect sence why he would send Percy to collect the special."

At the moment, the gale blew hard, it blew on the carpet with a strong blast - the ropes snapped and the carpet flew off his flatbed.

"Oh no," he groaned, "silly wind, put the carpet back on the flatbed!"

The gale's wind wasn't listening, it just carried the carpet out of sight.

"It's just a roll of carpet Percy, there's no need to get excited about it," sniffed Gordon as he puffed on his way.

Percy started on his way as soon as the signal changed to green. Then he saw it - the wind had dropped the carpet onto Toby's roof.

"Well it won't take long to catch up to Toby," said his Driver.

"Toby, stop!"

Toby didn't hear Percy, the wind was blowing so much that Percy's voice was drowned out. It didn't take long for Percy to catch up with Toby, "Toby, you have my carpet."

"Blimey Toby, Percy is right," gasped the Driver, "don't worry I'll get it down in no time."

But before the driver could get to the carpet, the gale blew again and sent it off to one of the other lines - that Thomas was coming down, he was travelling light engine to collect a special.

"Stop Thomas!" cried the engines at once.

Thomas heard them, his Driver slammed on the brakes, but he knew that Thomas wouldn't be able to stop in time. At that moment, the gale blew again - this time, it blew the carpet off the tracks and dropped it on the flatbed.

"That was too close," gasped Gordon.

Percy said nothing, he was mostly out of breath and now he was going to be late. His Driver and fireman tied down the carpet then they went on their way again.

They soon arrived, being two minutes late, Percy's crew had to explain about what had happened.

"Well Percy," chuckled the Fat Controller, "looks as if you've had an exciting adventure with flying carpets today."

"Too...much...for...me...for...one...day," he said trying to catch his breath.

It didn't take long to take the carpet off the flatbed, one of the workmen explained why they wanted the carpet delivered by rail.

"The roads to the station are close to the damage caused by the gale," he said, "plus we needed this carpet for the flower show going on later today."

Before long, the winds had died down and just in time for the flower show. Everyone had a good time, especially Percy.

"At least now I know how James felt that day," he said quietly to himself.

As for Gordon, well he certainly didn't want to tease Percy about his special, especially when the wind's blowing a gale.


	20. The Engine's Hero

_**The Engine's Hero**_

_**Based on "Edward Strikes Out"**_

Edward the Blue Engine has worked on the Fat Controller's railway for a long time, he works hard and helps any new comers when they are brought to Sodor. Then when he needs help, he knows the new comers will come to help.

One morning, Edward puffed into the docks to collect a train of pipes. Gordon and Thomas were waiting to collect their trains to take to the big station. They were looking further down the dock yard and noticed a huge crane.

"He looks strong," said Thomas, "I bet he could lift 'light as a feather' Gordon off his wheels."

Gordon shot Thomas a nasty look, Thomas chuckled and went to get his train.

"He doesn't look that special," Gordon sniffed, "he can't move on his own."

Gordon was correct, the new crane couldn't move by himself, he would require an engine to pull him along.

"I don't know why the Fat Controller bought something so useless, if you ask me he should send that stupid crane away."

At that moment Percy arrived after dropping off some trucks, he was amazed by the crane's size. Gordon then started complaining again, Edward had had enough.

"Give the new comer a chance Gordon, I'm sure he can prove himself useful. You wouldn't like it if everyone said that about you."

"No of course not, but nobody would say that about me, they know I'm an important engine."

"Come on Gordon," said his Driver, "we need to collect the special."

As he puffed away, Gordon muttered "new fangled nonsense."

"What did Gordon mean by that?" asked Percy.

"It's something new that isn't really useful," answered his Driver.

"Why does he always have to be rude to new comers? First he was rude to Harvey, then Molly and now the new crane."

"It's just Gordon," said Edward, "don't worry Percy, before you know it, the new crane will show Gordon just how useful he is."

At last, his trucks were ready, Edward puffed over to collect them.

"Hello there," smiled the big crane, "my name is Rocky."

"Nice to meet you Rocky, I'm Edward, welcome to Sodor."

"Thank you so much, you're the first engine to talk to me today - well, without a rude comment."

"Oh don't mind Gordon, he's always like that. Sometimes it just takes him time to get used to new comers."

At last Edward was coupled up to his trucks, "can I come with you?" asked Rocky, "you might need some help with those pipes."

"Thanks Rocky, but I'm okay. Anyways, you're needed here in case there is an emergency."

Rocky understand but felt upset. Edward's guard blew his whistle and Edward set off with his trucks.

Edward was soon out on the main line, he was thinking on how to help Rocky. All was going well, until he saw the signal change to red. Edward's Driver applied the brakes and he came to a stop - the sudden stop, made the pipes crash out of the trucks and onto the tracks.

"What a mess," gasped the Driver, "I better phone for Harvey."

Edward wasn't so sure, "Harvey might be strong, but those pipes might be too heavy for him."

He was right, Harvey found that lifting more than one pipe was too much for him. He was reduced to lifting one at a time, "I'm sorry about this Edward," he said, "this might take me all day."

Thomas and Emily soon arrived with another special from the branch line, they were surprised to see the giant sized mess.

"How did this happen Edward?" asked Thomas.

Edward explained about what happened, just as the signalman came up.

"I'm sorry about what happened," he said, "I had to change the points from up the line for Murdoch."

"It seems to me that there are a lot of specials going across the branch and main lines," groaned Emily, "but now we're going to be late."

Then there was trouble, they heard the sounds of a big engine coming.

"Stop!" cried Thomas, Emily and Edward, "the tracks are blocked!"

Gordon couldn't hear them as he puffed along light engine to collect another special from the docks. When could hear them, it was too late. Gordon crashed into the pile of pipes and derailed.

"What happened?" asked the Driver.

"What a mess," groaned the signalman.

"I can't lift Gordon," said Harvey, "he's far too heavy for me."

"What about that new crane at the docks?" asked Thomas, "he looked very strong to me, maybe he can clear the line for us."

"No," snapped Gordon, "don't you dare bring that new fangled nonsense here, he's only to cause a bigger mess."

"Give him a chance," said Emily, "who knows, he just might prove you wrong - again."

As Edward was the only engine who wasn't trapped, he was uncoupled from the trucks, then he puffed on his way to the docks.

He soon arrived and found Rocky just finishing his demostrations.

"There's been an emergency on the main line," Edward said, "we need your help Rocky."

"I'm willing and ready," he said happily. Edward coupled up to Rocky and pulled him out of the docks, "go get them Edward!"

As they puffed along, people waved to them and cheered for the newest Sodor crane. Edward felt proud to be pulling the newest crane of Sodor.

Soon they reached the mess, Gordon only sulked, but said nothing.

"Don't worry yourselves," said Rocky, "I'll have this mess cleared up quickly."

Rocky was true to his word - he lifted Gordon back onto the tracks - then he lifted all the pipes off the tracks, until at last the lines were clear.

"I will admit that Rocky isn't a piece of new fangled nonsense as I had thought," said Gordon, "he is quite useful."

"Thank you," smiled Rocky.

"You were grand Rocky," smiled Edward, "you are a really useful crane and a welcome audtion to this railway family."

"Three cheers for Rocky!"

All the engines blew their whistles and cheered loudly for Rocky the Mighty Sodor Crane.


	21. Toby Works Hard

_**Toby Works Hard**_

_**Based on "Toby Feels Left Out"**_

Many of the Sodor engines have worked on the railway for many years. Toby the Tram Engine hasn't worked on the line as long as Thomas or Edward, but if you heard the people of Sodor speak, they will tell you that Toby works as if he's been on the railway even longer than Edward.

One morning, Toby was at the big station waiting for the all clear back to the branch line. James was at the next platform with the stopping passenger train.

"Did you hear that there's a new museum opening up soon?" he asked.

"Yes I heard about it," answered Toby, "the Fat Controller was telling me about it last night."

"Well from what I know, the Fat Controller is going to place some old relics in that museum - like old tram engines for example."

"Don't be silly James, the Fat Controller would never place a really useful engine in a museum, just like he would never scrap an engine, remember what happened with Percy?"

"Well everyone knows how useful Percy is, but you are too old for the railway, maybe it's time you were retired."

The guard blew his whistle and James set off on his way.

Later on, Toby had returned to the branch line, Thomas was nearby with a train of coal trucks. Toby told Thomas all James had said.

"That James will say anything, won't he? There's no way, the Fat Controller would want to place you inside a museum."

"I know that Thomas," he said happily, "I know he wouldn't do that, that's one of the many reasons he brought me from my old line."

"Well that, and he wanted no more trouble from the police."

Thomas and Toby chuckled, as the little blue engine puffed on his way with the coal trucks.

That night, when Toby told the same thing to Percy, he got a different response.

"Maybe he is going to put you in the museum, I mean traffic on the branch line has increased over the years and you can't always handle the workloads by yourself."

"That's not like you Percy," said Thomas, "you know like we do, that Toby will never get placed in a museum."

"But you have to admit that it is something to think about, unless Toby can prove himself."

"Toby has proved himself many times before, like when he helped Gordon up the hill, or how about when he helped Farmer McColl and his new born lambs."

"Okay that's enough you two," said Toby, "we don't need you two starting another feud like you did many years ago."

Both engines agreed, but Percy was still worried that Toby would get stuck in a museum, unless he did work twice as hard as any other engine on the line.

The next morning, he had come up with a plan.

"Come on Percy," said his Driver, "we need to collect the flour from the mill."

"I'm sorry," said Percy, trying to sound like he's sick, "I'm not feeling well right now."

"In that case," sighed the fireman, "we'll need to see with the stationmaster and see if there's any other engine available, then we'll deal with you Percy."

So the fireman called the stationmaster at Ffraquhar and informed him that Percy wasn't feeling well at the moment.

"Well there is Toby, I could send him."

So while Percy's crew continued to look over Percy, Toby went off to the flour mill. There were more trucks there and Toby had to make several trips.

By the time, he delivered the last of his trucks, he was tired.

"Not to worry Toby," said his Driver, "all you need is some rest, then we'll refill your tanks and by on our way."

"That's good," sighed Toby, as they headed off down the line.

Percy continued his little game for the rest of the morning, so Toby was asked to do some of Percy's other jobs. He was so busy with Percy's other jobs that he was almost late back to the quarry.

It took a while, but at last Toby finished with minutes to spare.

"Whew!" he gasped, "I've never worked this hard before."

"Couldn't be helped Toby, still you did a good job today," smiled his Driver, "it's no wonder why the Fat Controller calls you a really useful steam tram."

At that moment, the Fat Controller arrived - suddenly Toby felt himself moving. His Driver tried to stop him, but it did no good, "the brakes are gone!"

There was more trouble further ahead - there was a huge blouder lying on the tracks. Toby ran into the boulder with a huge thud!

"Bust my cowcathers!" he cried.

"I think you have," groaned the Driver.

He was right, Toby's cowcatcher was broken and so were his back wheels, they just hung in the air.

The Fat Controller ran over to him, "are you alright Toby?"

"I think so, just a little battered but I'm okay."

"I can't understand how that could have happen," said the Driver, "the brakes were just fine a while ago. I guess the strain on those trains must have taken their toll."

"Speaking of which," said the Fat Controller, "Percy was not ill this morning."

"He wasn't?" asked Toby.

"He wasn't, and when I went to speak to him, he told me why. He was worried that I was going to put you in the museum, so he wanted to give you all his jobs to prove how useful you are."

"Sir, I do know that you know that I'm useful."

"I know Toby, and I told that to Percy and he apoligized for this. Now, you'll have to go to the works, Thomas can take Henritta with Annie and Clarabel and Percy can do your jobs."

It didn't take long for Toby to be repaired, he was soon released from the works in a few days. When he got home, Percy spoke to him.

"Toby, I'm really sorry for the way I have been acting, I just didn't want to see you go inside the museum."

"That's okay Percy," he said, "I understand, but next time if something is bothering you, don't be afraid to talk to either Thomas or myself, okay?"

"Yes, I'll remember that."

On the day of the grand opening of the museum, Toby was given an important job - he was to take visitors to the museum. Percy was proud of his friend and cheered for him when he saw him.

"He's no museum engine, he is Sodor's really useful steam tram and a good friend. Well done Toby!"

Toby could only smile.


	22. Don't Be Afraid

_**Don't Be Afraid**_

_**Based on "Skarloey Storms Through"**_

It had been a busy day up in the hills of Sodor. Skarloey was taking his last load of slate to the yards.

"Listen Skarloey, there's something I need to talk to you about," said his Driver, "I'm going to be retiring tomorrow, don't worry you'll be getting a new driver."

"But what will you do?"

"Well I'm thinking of opening up a hobby store near the middle station."

"Well then, I wish you good luck, but I am going to miss you."

"And I'm going to miss you Skarloey, but don't worry I'll come by sometimes to see how you are doing."

By the next day, Skarloey's new Driver was proving himself very well. He was quite friendly and liked to talk alot, but he did look nervous when the dark clouds started to appear above their heads.

Soon they came upon a small farm, the farmer was waving to them.

"My sheep are stuck up in the hills," he said, "a mudslide has buried one of my tractors and my other one has just broken down, I need help getting them back to the farm before they get sick."

"We'll ask around for help when we get to the yards," said Skarloey.

Skarloey soon puffed into the yards, thankfully both Rheneas and Peter Sam were there.

"Are you two busy?" asked Skarloey.

"Not really," said Peter Sam, "Why?"

Skarloey explained about the problem with the farmer and his sheep being trapped on the hills, "of course we'll help," said Rheneas, "I think I saw Mighty Mac bring in some empty trucks ago, we could ask the yard manager if we could borrow them."

"I'm sure he'll agree," smiled Peter Sam.

"We better be careful," advised Skarloey as a giant flash of lightning appeared in the sky, "this storm is looking a little firece today."

When the Drivers had gotten permission from the yard manager and the Thin Controller, they took their three engines up to the hills. Skarloey however, was going a little slowly.

"I wonder," he thought to himself.

Soon the three engines had reached the bottom of the hill, Rheneas was in the front, Peter Sam in the middle and Skarloey brought up the rear.

"Let's try to bring down as many sheep as we can," called Peter Sam, "it'll save us plenty of time and coal too."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," said Peter Sam's Driver.

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, Skarloey felt someone move around nervously inside his cab, which made his shake.

"Here I go!" called Rheneas.

"Right behind you!" shouted Peter Sam.

"I won't be too far behind," said Skarloey.

He moved forwards then he stopped, "what's wrong Skarloey?" asked his fireman, "we have to help the farmer."

"I know that," he said, "it's not me."

Skarloey was sadly right, it was his new driver, "I'm not going up there with all this lightning and thunder around," he said with a nervous tone in his voice. He backed Skarloey away - and placed him inside of an open shed.

"Are you scared of lightning and thunder?" asked Skarloey.

"Yes," groaned the Driver, "I always have been since I was a little kid."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that," said the fireman, "but you're going have to get over it, cause we're needed up on the top of the hill to help Rheneas and Peter Sam with the sheep."

The Driver wasn't going to be able to get over his fears and refused to go, despite Skarloey and his fireman telling him otherwise.

Meanwhile Peter Sam and Rheneas were doing their best, they had no idea that Skarloey wasn't with them.

"There are more sheep up here than I had thought," said Peter Sam on their second trip down the hill, "oh well, we'll soon get them back to the farm soon."

"I hope so," added Rheneas, "before we run low on coal."

By the time they had returned on their third trip, they had a problem. Both engines didn't have enough coal to make another journey up the hill and back again.

"There's still more sheep on the hill," groaned Peter Sam.

Skarloey's new Driver looked at the faces of Rheneas and Peter Sam, then he looked over to the worried farmer.

"If I'm scared of lightning and thunder, then the little sheep must be really scared," he said, "I guess I could try to conquer my fears."

"That's the spirit," said Skarloey.

The Driver brought Skarloey out of the shed, Rheneas and Peter Sam were surprised to see him come out of the shed. Skarloey then explained about his new Driver's fears.

"I am scared," groaned the new Driver, "but I'll put my fears aside, cause we have a job to do."

"Skarloey, before you go," called Peter Sam, "take my coal, there's still plenty of sheep to collect."

Rheneas even offered up the last of his coal, and soon Skarloey's bunker was filled to the brim with plenty of coal. Then they shouted encouraging words to the Driver as Skarloey stormed his way up the hill.

The lightning still flashed and the thunder still crashed, but Skarloey's Driver was determined to help, and with the help of Skarloey and his fireman's encouraging words, he didn't give up.

At last, Skarloey reached the top of the hill. The farmers were pleased to see him.

Soon Skarloey had collected the last of the sheep and got back to the bottom of the hill.

"Thank you everyone," said the farmer, "all the sheep are now safe thanks to you, I'll be sure to tell the Thin Controller of how useful you have been."

"Especially you," Skarloey called to his Driver, "you were able to conquer your fears and just in the nick of time too."

"Well I haven't gotten over my fears just yet," he said, "but I'm sure that I will in time."

The lightning flashed and the thunder crashed again, but this time Skarloey's new Driver didn't jump.

"I'm sure that you will," smiled Skarloey, "I'm sure of it."


	23. Artistic Percy

_**Artistic Percy**_

_**Based on "Percy and the Oil Painting"**_

Early one morning, the Fat Controller came to the sheds to speak with Percy.

"Percy, I need you to take a special visitor on a tour of our line," he said, "he wants to do a few pictures of Sodor, one he calls 'The spirit of Sodor'. Anyways, I've asked Duck to do your jobs for the day."

"Yes sir," said Percy nervously.

"Don't be afraid Percy," said Thomas, "I know you'll give the important visitor a grand tour of our line."

"I should have been given that job," sniffed Gordon, "if it has anything to do with important passengers, then I'm just the engine for the job. Percy will probably get the visitor so angry that they'll complain to the Fat Controller."

"Don't listen to him Percy, you can do it. You've given passengers great rides before, remember when you promised to bring the children home during that storm?"

Percy smiled, "thank you Thomas, I promise I won't let you or the railway down."

Percy puffed into the docks light engine, he was hoping that the visitor was going to be friendly. I'm sorry to say that he wasn't. He looked angry as he looked over to Percy.

"What's this?" he asked angerily, "I was hoping for a ride on a diesel powered train, not a steam relic."

Percy felt hurt, especially when the visitor grumbled about riding in Percy's cab.

"Never mind Percy," said his Driver, "I'm sure he'll calm down when he sees what our Island is all about."

This made Percy feel much better as he puffed on his way.

He first puffed into Shen Valley, it was a wonderful place to visit. Percy was sure that the artist would paint a picture of the valley. Well I'm sorry to say that he just grumbled.

"It's too green," he snapped, "show me, something special!"

"Yes...sir," said Percy, he felt offended all over again.

The next place, Percy and his crew took the artist was to Norramby beach. There were plenty of people there today, all enjoying the nice warm summer weather.

"What do you think sir?" asked Percy, "wouldn't you think that Norramby beach is a great place to paint?"

"This is a joke right?" snapped the artist, "this place is too yellow and there are too many people here. I told you to show me something special, it's no wonder why you steam engines were replaced, you can't do anything right."

Percy's feelings were deeply hurt, but he did agree to show the artist something else.

But the artist was a picky man. When Percy showed the viaduct, the artist said "too tall". Then the windmill, "too round". He tried many locations, but the artist wasn't happy with any of the places. Each time he said something terrible about the locations and about Percy.

"I wish I had the confidence like Thomas," whispered Percy to his Driver, "then I can tell this artist that he is wrong."

"It's better if you don't," his Driver advised, "he'll most likely complain to the Fat Controller, remember he is famous and important."

At last, Percy pulled into the big station. It was very busy at this time, with engines shunting, passengers boarding trains and porters loading and unloading.

"What about the big station?" Percy asked the artist, "don't you think this is the best thing to paint."

"No, it is not!" snapped the Artist, "there are too many of you clap traps here, if your controller had any sense, he would replace all of you with diesels, at least they are beautiful. Steam engines are rusty buckets on wheels which need to find themselves a scrap yard."

Gordon was nearby, he was about to tell the artist what he thought of him, but he never got the chance as Percy said it for him.

"How dare you speak like that about us engines and of our island. Sodor is beautiful and wonderful, and all the engines here are really useful workers! You have no taste in art at all!"

Percy was so cross that he blew steam angerily, which blew the artist's hat away.

"Well done Percy," said Gordon, "I couldn't have put it better myself."

The Fat Controller had heard everything from his office, just as he was going to have his lunch. He spoke sternly, "Percy, what is the meaning of this?"

"Well sir, this man insulted all of us and..."

"Percy is right," said the artist, "I have been insulting your railway and your island and I am sorry. To make up for my bad behaviour, I will paint a picture of Percy."

Percy was surprised, "you want to paint a picture of me?"

"Yes, indeed. You are honest, loyal and not afraid to speak your mind, that's why I want to paint a picture of a great steam engine with a true artistic view. You truely are the 'Spirit of Sodor'."

Percy was pleased, Gordon however was speechless.

For the rest of the day, Percy stayed where he was, while the painter painted his picture. Later that night, the artist revealed the picture.

"I knew you were the right engine for the job," smiled Thomas, "maybe we should get an artist hat for you."

Percy had to chuckle, still he was happy to change a person's view of steam engines and helped someone to become a perfect artist.

"What a wonderful picture!"


	24. A Memoriable Day for Thomas

_**A Memoriable Day for Thomas**_

_**Based on "Thomas and the Storyteller"**_

If you were to talk to any engine on the Island of Sodor, then you'll find out that they all have wonderful stories filled with adventures, friendships and teamwork. Thomas has plenty of stories from his young days to his most recent adventures.

The engines are always glad to tell their grand tales to visitors, especially when it comes to authors.

One morning, the Fat Controller came to the sheds to speak with the engines.

"The famous author and storyteller, Ms. Mary Marvel is due to come for the library's grand re-opening."

The Sodor Library had closed for a long time, since a fire had broken out and nearly burned the entire building. Thankfully BoCo was able to come to the rescue when he did, he had brought the water tankers to the sight on time.

"I will reguire one of you engines to take Ms. Marvel on a tour of our line," the Fat Controller continued, "then that engine will have to bring her to library before the grand re-opening."

He paused impressively, there was a long silence - "Thomas, I would like you to show this famous author around."

"Yes sir," he smiled.

"Don't worry about your branch line work, Daisy and Toby can handle the passengers and Rosie will do your goods work."

The Fat Controller gave out the rest of the jobs for the day, then he was on his way.

"Be careful as you go along Thomas," advised Percy, "famous visitors don't like it when you give them a rough ride."

"Like you did with the famous artist?" asked Gordon in a cheeky way.

"Don't worry about a thing Percy," smiled Thomas, "my crew and I will give Ms. Marvel a wonderful ride."

Thomas was soon on his way, travelling light engine to the docks. When he arrived, he was greeted by Ms. Marvel, who had a notebook and a box of cookies.

"Hello there," smiled Thomas, "welcome to Sodor."

"Thank you so much," she smiled, "you must be Thomas the Tank Engine, I do hope you'll give me a wonderful trip today."

"You won't be disapointed," said the Driver, "I'm sure that excitment is just down the line."

Ms. Marvel climbed on board and Thomas puffed on his way across the main lines.

Thomas told Ms. Marvel some of the stories from his branch line, when he saw James in a siding. He looked miserable.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Thomas' Driver.

"James' siderods have snapped off," called James' fireman, "and what a time to do it, when we're to take visitors to the library."

"I already phoned for Bertie to collect the passengers, but he can't make it out here," added James' Driver.

"This wouldn't be the first time someone's lost their siderods," said Thomas to Ms. Marvel, "Edward's crank pins broke once and he had to run without his siderods and twice already I broke my siderods off, while I was pulling heavy loads."

"Can you get us to the next station?" asked James, "otherwise it'll be a long walk for the passengers."

Thomas agreed to help and soon was coupled up to James. Then slowly but surely, the two engines were on their way. They made it to Maithwaite where Bertie was waiting.

"Well done Thomas," he cheered, "you are a true friend."

James had to agree as he, his crew and his passengers all thanked Thomas. Thomas whistled cheerfully to them and headed out on his way.

"You weren't joking," said Ms. Marvel to Thomas' Driver, "when you said that excitment was just down the line."

Thomas continued on down the line, showing Ms. Marvel some of the famous locations. As he puffed along, he spotted Emily in a siding with a train of flour trucks.

"My whistle is broken," groaned Emily, "I can't run without a whistle."

"Peter Sam will tell you the same thing," said Thomas to Ms. Marvel again, "his whistle was broken off once, then Duncan lost his whistle on the same day."

"Don't worry," said Thomas' Driver, "we'll help you to the bakery."

Thomas changed tracks and buffered up to Emily, then he puffed along, whistling at crossings and stations until they reached the bakery.

"Thank you Thomas," smiled Emily sweetly.

"Your welcome," said Thomas happily and headed off on his way.

Ms. Marvel was enjoying the run. All was going well - until they spotted Percy in flood waters.

"Botheration," groaned Thomas, "that's the third time, Percy has gotten stuck in the water. Of course we engines sometimes get ourselves into trouble with water, as my friend Toby will tell you."

"We better get him out of the flood waters Thomas," said his Driver, "before a gaint wave comes and washes him away."

Thomas was brought slowly into the water, Ms. Marvel had to stand on her box of cookies to keep her feet dry. Thomas gently buffered up to Percy and pushed him onto dry rails.

"Thank you Thomas," said Percy, "I was hoping not to let that happen for a third time."

Thomas pushed Percy into a nearby siding, then he puffed on to the Sodor Library.

He arrived earlier than expected, the Fat Controller was waiting there for them, "I hope you gave our famous visitor, a wonderful ride."

"I'm sorry sir," groaned Thomas, "but I haven't had the time to do that. I had to help James, who broke his traction rods. Then I had to help Emily when her whistle broke and push Percy out of a flood."

"It certainly was a memoriable day," said Ms. Marvel, "I've always been inspired by all that you have done Thomas, from reading the stories about you, it's no wonder why Sir Topham Hatt calls you a really useful engine."

Thomas was surprised, "so you're not disapointed by all the rescues I had to perform today?"

"I'm not disapointed," she smiled, "your rescues are good enough to be made into a wonderful story, I will call it 'A Memoriable Day for Thomas'."

Thomas was so pleased, but was a lost for words, so he just smiled.

Soon the ribbon was cut and the library was open once more. Then Ms. Marvel told off her story and many more to all the people and to all the engines who could make it, all about the grand adventures of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends on the Island of Sodor.


	25. Bugs Bite Back

_**Bugs Bite Back**_

_**Based on "Creaky Cranky"**_

Cranky the Crane has worked down at the dockside for many years. He works hard day and night, he works so hard that he works into the early hours of the morning. He doesn't get alot of sleep, this often makes him cranky and rude to the other engines.

Early one morning, Billy the Orange tank engine puffed into the docks to collect a special for the Duke and Duchess of Boxford.

"Good morning Cranky!" he called.

"What's so good about it?" snapped Cranky crossly, "I've been working throughout the entire night and all this morning too. I was enjoying the piece and quiet, until you came here, you little bug!"

Cranky lowered the crates onto Billy's trucks and the workmen tied the crates down, "my, my," bubbled Billy, "you are creaky Cranky! Were those crates too heavy for you?"

Cranky was cross with Billy's joke, "it wasn't that heavy, they were very light like cotten candy. A tiny bug like you will never be able to carry a load like that, you little mite."

Now Billy was cross, he didn't like being called a 'bug' or a 'mite'.

"I'm stronger than you ever will be," snapped Billy, then he came up with an idea, "why don't we have a contest of strength. If you can lift all the items that I bring, then you can call me 'Tiny Billy' forever."

"And should I lose?"

"Then you have to stop calling me a 'bug' and a 'mite'."

"Very well," chuckled Cranky, "I accept the challenge, now get that load out of my dockyard, you little mite!"

Billy backed onto the flatbeds, he was cross with Cranky. Once his Driver had coupled him up, Billy puffed away, thinking on how to prove to Cranky that he wasn't the strongest machine on Sodor.

After delivering his load, Billy puffed back to the docks to do some shunting with Salty. As he did his job, he found a truck with some scrap iron.

"That could work, I bet Cranky won't be able to lift it," he chuckled quietly.

"We should probably move those trucks of scrap metal," said his Driver.

"Indeed," agreed Billy.

He allowed his Driver and fireman to couple him up to the trucks and he pulled them to where Cranky was.

"You again?" asked Cranky angerily, "what do you want?"

"Have you forgotten our little contest? Here's the first item I would like you to pick up - unless, it's too heavy for you to lift. Are you a scared creaky Cranky?"

"Nonscene, I can lift it easily!"

Once his hook was hooked up to one of the scrap trucks, Cranky lifted the truck up into the air with little trouble, "Too easy, tiny Billy!"

"Just you wait Creaky Cranky, I'll find something that you can't lift!"

Billy continued to shunt the trucks, then he finally saw something which gave him a glimer of hope. There was a flatbed full of new parts due to go to the steamworks.

"That Creaky Cranky won't be able to lift this," he thought to himself.

Billy was to shunt the truck onto Murdoch's next goods train, but he decided to bring it over to Cranky.

"Only for a short while," said his Driver, "then we have to add it onto Murdoch's train."

So Billy brought it over to Cranky and dared him to lift it. The truck was heavy, but not too heavy for Cranky, he was able to lift it.

"This hurts," he muttered to himself.

"Bother," grumbled Billy, "I need to find something heavier than these trucks."

Billy brought the truck over to Murdoch's train. He was about to go back to shunting, when the dock manager came over to speak to him.

"Thomas has broken down," he said, "he was on his way back to his branch line with a goods train. Rosie is taking his trucks, we need you to move Thomas out of the way."

"Yes...sir," said Billy, he then had an idea, "Thomas is heavier than trucks, I bet Creaky Cranky won't be able to lift him off the ground."

Billy was brought over to where Thomas was, his Driver coupled him up and Billy pulled Thomas out of the way. He brought him over to Cranky.

"What are you doing with Thomas?" he asked.

"I brought him over for you to lift, unless...Thomas is too heavy."

"What?" Thomas asked.

"I can lift him easily," sniggered Cranky, "I was the crane who brought Harvey off the ship, I can surely lift Thomas with no trouble."

"Wait...hold on a..."

The workmen attached the special cables around Thomas and attached them to Cranky's hook.

"Scared?" asked Billy cheekily.

"You wish!" snapped Cranky.

"Ah, would this be a good time to let you know that I have a fear of heights," said Thomas, "so please don't lift me up."

Neither Cranky or Billy listened. Cranky's operator was worried, but still he agreed to allow Cranky to try. With a loud groan, Cranky slowly lifted Thomas up off the ground.

"Easy does it," said the operator, "those heavy loads might have taken their..."

He got no further - the groaning sound grew louder and louder, then there was a loud snap. Cranky's wench and arm snapped and Thomas swayed in the air.

"I don't like this," Thomas groaned.

Now there was nothing he or Cranky could do, Billy couldn't believe what had happened. At that moment, Hank arrived with a passenger train, he gasped at what happened. He wasn't alone - the Fat Controller was on board.

"Thomas, what are you doing up there?" he asked.

"Would you believe I was learning how to fly? Actually, I broke down a while ago and Billy brought me over here, then Cranky lifted me into the air and now he's broken down."

The Fat Controller looked over to Billy, "you are a silly engine," he said, "you and Cranky have important jobs to do, this is not the time to play. Now Cranky is broken and Thomas is stuck in the air."

He then looked over to Cranky, "you were also silly to do this, you should know better than that!"

"Sorry sir," said Cranky and Billy in unison.

"I knew it was a bad idea to except Billy's challenge," groaned Cranky's operator.

"Can I come down now?" asked Thomas, "I'd rather have my wheels on the rails - not hanging in the air, like a bird."

"It'll be a while yet Thomas," said the Fat Controller, "I'm afraid you'll have to stay up there, until Cranky is fixed. Billy will collect some new parts and a repair man."

"Yes sir," sighed Billy and puffed off light engine to get the new parts.

In a short while, Billy brought the repair man and the new parts. The man went up to repair Cranky's wench, then Cranky lowered Thomas back to the ground.

Thomas went to the steamworks on Hank's goods train, while Billy stayed with Cranky.

"I'm sorry about what happened Cranky," he said, "I shouldn't have been so silly."

"You and me both," said Cranky.

In a few days, Cranky was fixed and in good working order. He still looks down at Billy, but he never calls him a 'bug','mite' or 'Tiny Billy', for if he does, that little 'bug' just 'mite' gave him a 'tiny' bite.


	26. Undercoat

_**Undercoat**_

_**Based on "Tickled Pink" and "Henry Sees Red"**_

When engines are to get a new coat of paint, then they have to be given a special 'undercoat'. For most of the Fat Controller's and the Thin Controller's engines, they all get a red undercoat first, before their actual coat of paint is added on.

For engines like Arthur, Skarloey, Rheneas and James, their undercoat is different. Their color has to be pink, then the workmen don't have to worry if they had missed a spot.

On a warm summer's day, James was at the steamworks, getting a brand new coat of paint. He had recently gone into the steamworks for an overhaul and was now ready for his new red paint. First the workers came to remove all the old paint off of him, until there was nothing left.

Then some painters came up to paint him, James groaned as he saw the paint cans.

"Pink paint," he groaned, "I'm sure glad I'm in the steamworks and not outside where the others can see me. They would laugh at me."

"You would look nice James," smiled the painters, "but don't worry, it won't take long for this paint to dry, then we'll give you a fresh coat of red paint."

"Just try to keep it clean this time," said one of the other painters.

They soon got started, it took a few hours, but at last James could seen in his...pink paint.

Duncan was coming in on the new narrow gauge line, he was to get some new parts. When he saw James, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Thinking of joining the circus James?" he asked in a cheeky way.

"No I am not!" he snapped crossly, "this is my undercoat, I'll soon get my proper red paint soon."

"If you ask me, you should stick with the pink paint, it really suits you."

Duncan then puffed his way into the shops, leaving James fuming on the spot.

James was enjoying his rest, when he heard someone climbing the steps to his cab, it was his Driver and fireman.

"Sorry to bother you at this time James," said his Driver, "but we've been asked to get you back to work, Molly has broken down and the Fat Controller wants us to go do her jobs."

"Can't someone else do the jobs?" he asked, "I'm not ready yet!"

"You look ready to me," chuckled his fireman, "still you're the only other engine who can help, all the other engines are far too busy."

James grumbled dreadfully as his crew brought his steam preasure up, then they brought him out of the workshops.

"It's disgusting," he sulked sadly, "the very thought that when I'm about to get my new coat of paint, I have to go work and work as a pink engine too!"

Still there was nothing James could do, orders were orders. As he started to leave, he could hear Duncan singing out some circus music.

"Say James, next time I see you, would you mind giving my Driver and fireman some candy floss? Since you're going off to the circus to join them!"

Duncan burst out laughing, while James blushing bright red puffed out for his jobs.

First James had to collect some trucks from the flour mill, when he arrived he heard the trucks laughing, "oh look at this," one called out, "it's old Rusty Red."

"No," said another, "it's a candy floss engine!"

James grumbled dreadfully as he was coupled up to the trucks and pulled away for the docks, "at least no other engine has seen me in pink," he thought to himself, "if Gordon saw me, he would never let me hear the last of it."

He arrived at the docks with minutes to spare, "the steamworks has done a great job in repairing you James," said his Driver, "you're running like a new engine."

"Well I don't feel like a new engine," he groaned, "I feel like a clown."

Just then, James heard the sounds of an engine appoarching, it was Diesel. He was shunting some trucks in the dockyards as Salty was busy elsewhere.

When he saw James, he had to laugh.

"Oh my James," he chuckled, "have you decided to join the girl scouts and be their personal engine? Cause from the look of your paint, it sure looks like it."

"Oh shut up!" he snapped and puffed away, he could still hear Diesel and Cranky the Crane laughing at him.

"Let's get these next few jobs done quickly," he groaned to his crew, "then I go back to the steamworks for my red paint."

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, James had to work hard, thankfully nobody saw him and his pink paint. No-one, except for the troublesome trucks.

Soon James had one more job to do, he was to take some important passengers to a party at the Sodor city hall.

He puffed along to Maithwaite station, he was worried of what the passengers would say to his pink paint. He was getting worried that some engine would see him and laugh at him.

Then it happened, as James puffed into Henry's tunnel, he came to a complete stop.

"Come on James," cried his Driver, "the passengers are waiting for us!"

"Send someone else," he snapped, "I'm not going out there to be seen!"

His Driver and fireman argued with James, but he refused to move and stayed in the tunnel. Just then, Gordon came up just outside of the tunnel, he could see smoke coming out of it.

"Who's in there?" he called, "Express train coming through!"

But James still refused to come out, he didn't even say a word to Gordon. Gordon blew his whistle several times and told the engine in the tunnel to get out of there, but James stayed where he was.

Gordon's fireman went back up the line to phone for help and soon Edward arrived outside of the tunnel.

"Sorry to do this," he called into the tunnel, "but the express can't be held up, so I'm coming in and I'm towing you out!"

James groaned, if he was pulled out of the tunnel, then Edward would see his pink paint and so would Gordon when he came out. Edward buffered up to the coaches and pulled James out. He pulled him into a siding and round to see who it was.

Gordon was just coming out of the tunnel, he and Edward were indeed surprised to see a pink James!

"Go ahead and laugh," he groaned, "that's all I've been getting all day."

Much to James' surprise, neither Gordon or Edward laughed at him, "it's okay James," said Edward, "we would never laugh at an engine just because of their paint."

"Indeed," agreed Gordon, "besides it's not like you're going to be wearing that undercoat forever, you'll be back in red in no time, in the meantime, you're still the same old James we have come to know all these years."

Gordon then set off on his way, Edward puffed his way back to the yards and James set off for Maithwaite station.

As he puffed along, he saw many engines looking at him with queer looks, "let them laugh at my pink paint," he thought to himself, "I'm still the same old James I've always been, and no pink paint is going to change that!"

Fired with determination, James puffed along, finally feeling like a new engine out of the shops. He soon pulled up to Maithwaite to see, Bridget Hatt and some of her friends with big presents in their hands.

Bridget was happy to see James, "you're pink!" she smiled, "it's my favourite color!"

"Do you really like pink?" James asked happily.

"I do," she smiled, "and so do all my friends."

All the rest of the children agreed, James had to smile, "then just call me, James the Pink Engine," he chuckled, "don't worry I'll get you to your party on time."

James was true to his word, he reached the town hall in record timing. The Fat Controller was there, he looked very pleased.

"Well done James, I am proud of you, you made it here with minutes to spare."

"Thank you sir, and I'm sorry for holding up the express earlier."

"That's okay James, we all have those off days. Still with the way you've been working today, maybe I should just leave you in your pink paint."

James looked worried, then he noticed that the Fat Controller was chuckling, "but I think you would look better in your red paint."

"Thank you sir," he smiled, "but if it's okay with you, can I stay as a pink engine for today?"

The Fat Controller happily agreed and said that James could take the children home that night.

All the children thanked James for a wonderful ride, some of the young girls even gave James a few kisses for giving them a wonderful ride. James blushed a deep shade of red, it was the only red thing on him.

In a few days, James came back from the steamworks with his red paint shining brightly, and when he got home, there was a great welcome for him.

"I am glad to have my red paint back," he said happily, "but still, I did have fun being 'James the Pink Engine'."


	27. Flora's New Loud Whistle

_**Flora's Loud New Whistle**_

_**Based on "Toby's New Whistle"**_

Flora and Toby the tram engines aren't like any other engines, they have bells instead of a whistle. These work just as well as a whistle would, used to warn people when they are coming.

One day, Toby and Flora were in the workshops for an annual checkup. They were in fine working order, but their bells weren't, they had worn out and needed to be repaired, so Victor asked Kevin to give them new spare whistles.

"Easy does it," called Victor, "nice and slowly."

Kevin lowered the first new whistle on Toby, then he carefully lowered the whistle on Flora's roof.

"It doesn't feel right," she groaned quietly.

"Well done Kevin," called Victor, "you're getting the hang of it."

"Thanks boss," he smiled, then he raced off to do other jobs.

"Thank you for the whistles Victor," said Toby.

"You're quite welcome my friends, now if you'll excuse me, I need to get going, I need to take some supplies down to the transfer yards."

At that moment, James arrived, he was dropping off some new supplies for the steamworks when he noticed the whistles on Toby and Flora.

"Oh my, aren't you two lucky engines," he smiled, "you both got three chimed steam whistles."

"Are they good whistles?" asked Flora.

"Good? They are the best! I used to have one, they are the loudest whistles ever."

"The loudest?"

"Yes, many people say that they can hear an engine coming from far away, especially whenever they hear that whistle. In fact, it would give Hank's whistle a run for it's money and it's a beautiful sound to hear. I do love the sound of my whistle, but it's not as good as a three chimed steam whistle."

Flora didn't like the idea of a big loud whistle, she wasn't used to them. Once she was steamed up, she set out on her way to Great Waterton.

"Toby, would you mind blowing your whistle for me?" James asked, "I long to hear the sound of the three chimed steam whistle."

"Alright James," he smiled, his Driver pulled on the cord and the whistle blew loud and long.

"That brings back good memories," smiled James, "hearing a whistle like that."

"It does sound like a nice whistle," agreed Toby.

Flora didn't think it was a good whistle, although she hadn't heard it yet, she was worried.

"I don't want to use a whistle that will probably scare people away," she groaned to her Driver, "I wish I had my little bell back."

"That will have to wait Flora," said her Driver, "just be patient."

Flora's jobs that day was to help Stanley with shunting trucks around Great Waterton, Flora didn't mind that, she was glad to be in the yards, instead of going out to blow her loud steam whistle.

"There are a lot of trucks here," said Stanley, "they might be a bit of a handful, so if you run into trouble, just ring your bell."

"My bell is in the steamworks," she groaned, "I have a whistle instead, a three chimed steam whistle."

"That'll work even better," smiled Stanley, "with a whistle like that, the trucks are sure to listen to you."

Flora wasn't so sure, she was hoping that the trucks weren't going to cause any trouble. Sadly, trucks are always eager to cause trouble and today was no exception.

Flora tried to move them, but she couldn't.

"Hold back! Hold back!" they cried.

"Come on, you stupid trucks!" she groaned, "I need to shunt you!"

The trucks simply ingored her and went back into playing their silly games. Flora didn't want to use her new 'Three chimed steam whistle', so she decided to stop shunting.

"This isn't like you old girl," said her Driver, "come on, just let me blow the whistle..."

"No, please don't!" she cried, "I don't like loud noises!"

Flora refused to shunt anymore, so Stanley was called to take care of the trucks. He blew his whistle loud and long at them and soon got them into their proper sidings and trains. Flora felt terrible, she usually liked shunting, and she liked helping her friends.

"If it wasn't for the three chimed steam whistle, then I wouldn't be in this mess."

Flora then set out with a train for the big station, she groaned about having to blow her whistle at the crossings.

"Oh good glory!" cried the Driver and applied the brakes, "I don't believe this, there are cows all over the line!"

"Oh no," groaned Flora.

"Would you say that now would be a good time to blow your new three chimed steam whistle Flora?" asked her Driver.

"No!" she cried, "I will not use this loud whistle, I hate loud noises and I don't want to scare everyone away from me. I mean if you look at Rusty, when he got that new loud horn of his, everyone would stay away from him."

"Not for too long," said her fireman, "in the end, Rusty's horn became very helpful and it's a wonder why the Thin Controller says that Rusty is still a useful diesel, even with a new horn."

"But the Fat Controller won't be calling you a really useful engine if we don't get these trucks to the yards on time," added her Driver.

Flora knew her crew was right, she was about to blow her whistle, when she heard someone coming down the line. It was Neville and he was puffing along with a goods train.

"Oh no," groaned Flora, "Neville's coming, we have to warn him!"

Flora took in a deep breath, her fire burned brightly, her driver blew the mighty steam whistle, loud and long! The noise could be heard for miles away.

"What was that?" asked Dennis, who was woken up by the noise.

"That was a three chimed steam whistle," said Duck, "they are some of the best whistles in the world, I wonder who's blowing that whistle."

Neville could hear the whistle, his Driver applied the brakes. Flora closed her eyes tightly, Neville braked hard - then finally he came to a stop right beside Flora.

"Did you blow that whistle?" he asked.

"Yes I did," smiled Flora, "it is louder than my bell, but not too loud. I like this whistle."

"Would you look at that," said Flora's Driver, "your whistle has sent those cows on their way."

Neville and his crew thanked Flora, then they set off on their way. Now that the line was clear, Flora set off on her way to the yards.

Once there, she met up with Toby, who was talking to Fat Controller.

"You're five minutes late Flora," said the Fat Controller sternly, "what happened?"

"We were held up with cows for a while sir," explained the Driver, "then we had to warn Neville about them."

"Oh no!" groaned Flora as she looked ahead, "there are logs all over the tracks!"

Indeed there were some logs all over the tracks, the sides of Henry's log trucks had broke and spilled it's cargo, "sorry about that," called Henry.

Just then, they heard the sounds of a big engine coming towards the station. It was Gordon with the express, he didn't know that the logs had spilled all over the tracks and any moment, there would be an accident.

"Don't worry sir," said Flora, "I'll warn him!"

She took in a huge puff, her driver then pulled on the cord and blew the whistle louder and longer than before. Gordon heard the whistle, then he saw the logs in front of him.

The Driver applied the brakes and Gordon skidded along, till he stopped with a few inches away from the logs.

"Flora? Did you blow that whistle?"

"Yes I did," she smiled, "I blew my new three chimed steam whistle to warn you."

"Thank you," smiled Gordon.

All the passengers came to thank her too, the Fat Controller was proud with her too and told her just how useful she was.

In a few days, the two tram engines were back in the steamworks, ready to get their bells back.

"I'm going to miss that whistle," said Flora sadly, "I was just getting used to the sound of it."

"If you want Flora," said Victor, "you can keep the whistle and your bell too."

"Really? Oh thank you Victor, I would like that."

"What about you Toby? Would you like to keep your new whistle?"

"No thank you," he smiled, "it was a nice whistle to use, but I still perfer my bell."

Toby soon puffed out of the works with his bell back in it's proper place. An hour later, Flora puffed out with her bell again and her shining new 'three chimed steam whistle'.

"It really is a beautiful sound," she said and blew her whistle loud and long for everone to hear. It was clear now that Flora was no longer scared of loud noises, wouldn't you agree with me?


	28. James' Balloon

_**James' Balloon**_

_**Based on "James and the Red Balloon"**_

Summertime can be a busy time on the Island of Sodor, more and more passengers arrive every day and the engines are kept busy taking them on tours. It's gets so busy that the buses or lorries have to help with the passenger traffic.

One morning, Thomas was sent from the branch line to collect a special from the docks and take it to the airport. As his Driver was about to couple him up to the flatbed with the important special, Percy pulled up after dropping off some stone trucks.

"What is that you got Thomas?" he asked.

"It's a balloon," he answered.

"A party balloon?" Percy asked in an excited way.

"No Percy," laughed Thomas' Driver, "it's a hot air balloon. It is used to carry passengers on special tours around the Island, giving them a different view from the air."

Once he was coupled up, Thomas set off for the Dryaw airfield.

Soon he arrived with time to spare. Thomas and his crew watched as the hot air filled the balloon - until it stood tall and proud, around the time James arrived with his passenger train.

"What in blazes is that thing?" he asked.

"That would be a hot air balloon James," said Thomas, "it's used to give passengers a tour of our island."

"I know what a hot air balloon is, Thomas," James said angerily, "I just want to know why that thing is here. Taking the visitors on tours around our island is the job of us engines and not that stupid floating basket."

Then, as if by magic, the balloon rose silently into the sky and away from the airport.

"What if that balloon takes away our passengers?" James asked crossly, "then we'll be reduced to goods traffic."

James puffed crossly away as soon as his guard blew his whistle. Thomas knew that the balloon wouldn't take away their passengers, but he did worry about it.

All across the Island of Sodor, people came out by the dozens to see the hot air balloon. It floated everywhere, giving some passengers rides to see the grand sights.

"Would ya look at that Douggie?" Donald said as the balloon was flying over the yards, "a floating basket with people in it."

"Aye, dinna see one of those alot these days," smiled Douglas.

While some of the engines enjoyed seeing the balloon floating by, there were others that were cross as it flew by. Such engines like Thomas and James, who were waiting for George the Steamroller to finish his work on the level crossing.

"Hurry up George," snapped Thomas, "I don't want to be late getting back to my branch line."

"Be quiet," George snapped back, "I made you crash off the line once, I can do it again."

James decided to have a go at hurrying George up, as he did so, Thomas could see something fall down close to James.

"James..."

"Not now Thomas, I'm not threw with my chat with George..."

"We're out of hot air!" cried a voice from above.

"Ahhhh!" cried James, "What is going on around here?"

Before anyone could react, the big red balloon fell flat on top of James. He was so scared that he let out a lot of steam, which started to fill up the balloon again - until it was standing tall and proud again and flew back into the air.

"Well done James," said his Driver, "I always said that you were full of hot air, but this is redicous."

"I can agree," said Thomas sarcatically, "you just saved the hot balloon James!"

"I didn't mean to," he groaned, "now that balloon is sure to take our passengers away."

"I doubt that will happen, still I think it might be a good idea if you did some goods work for a change."

James said nothing, he just groaned and looked back up to the hot balloon.

As he puffed along on the main line, James could see the balloon flying just above him, this made him cross.

"I'll never understand why people like those things," he grumbled, "railways are better to travel on anyways, plus we can carry more passengers."

When James arrived at Dryaw station, he could see lots of passengers on the platform, included with the Fat Controller.

"Well done James," he said happily, "I heard about your little rescue, using your own hot air...by accident."

"I didn't mean to," groaned James, "now it will take our passengers away."

"James, that will never happen. People will always need our railway to travel on, and that will never change."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, in fact these people would like a ride home...on a train."

James was delighted and relieved.

The Fat Controller was indeed correct, now with the hot air balloon, this meant more and more passengers came not only for the ride on roads or rails, but to see the Island by air.

Now whenever James sees the hot air balloon, he blows his whistle. Even when he's pulling a goods train.

And although he has never told anyone else, James often dreams about the hot air balloon. He doesn't think it's silly now, he thinks it's spendid, just like him.


	29. Edward's Piggy and Nutty Day

_**Edward's Piggy and Nutty Day**_

_**Based on "Thomas and the Pigs" and "Edward Cracks a Nut"**_

It was springtime on the Island of Sodor, with the promise of spring meant green fields, flowers growing beside the lines and newborn animals came too.

One spring morning, Edward the Blue Engine was delivering a load of supplies for Farmer Trotter.

"Good morning, Farmer Trotter," called Edward's Driver, "are you enjoying the nice sunny weather."

"Indeed I am," he smiled.

Edward smiled, then he noticed the pigs splashing around in the mud puddle.

"I have some good news to tell you," smiled Farmer Trotter, "one of my pigs is going to give birth today, but I've just run out of nice soft straw."

"Don't worry," said the Driver, "we'll be more than glad to bring some by when we get our work done."

Edward happily agreed, Farmer Trotter looked pleased by this.

"Thank you so much," he smiled, "when you're done your work, you can pick up the haybales from Farmer McColl's farm."

Edward had a very busy day that day. He first had to deliver nuts to Madge the Sub-Nosed lorry, who was to take them to the shops in the hills. Then he collected the milk tankers and took them to the dairy and lastly he was to collect apples from the Vicar's orchard and take them to the junction where Rosie would be to collect them and take them to market.

"You look fresh off your wheels Edward," she said, "have you been working hard?"

"Indeed I have," replied the blue engine, "still it's what we engines do, we do our best to get the job done."

While Edward was talking with Rosie, the guard was talking with Edward's driver and fireman, "remember when we were delivering the nuts earlier, well it turns out that we brought more than enough, so they said we could have some to keep."

"That's nice," said the Driver, "I would like to have one, but not at the moment, we have to collect our last passenger train of the day."

"Indeed," added the fireman, "I think BoCo deserves a good rest after taking passengers all day."

Edward was soon uncoupled from the trucks and puffed off to collect the coaches. Once they were coupled up, Edward set out on his way to collect the passengers.

Little did he know, that something 'unusual' was about to happen.

"Peep! Peep!" he whistled, "get in quickly please!"

The passengers got in quickly, the doors banged, the guard blew his whistle and the Driver opened the regulator - but nothing happened, Edward didn't move.

The Driver was surprised, "something doesn't seem right."

He waited till Edward had gotten up more steam, then tried again. This time, Edward started - but he didn't get very far, before he came to a stop.

"Well the problem isn't with Edward, maybe it has to do with the coaches."

The fireman got down from the cab and walked over to the guard's van.

"Hello," he said, "what's going on? Why aren't we leaving?"

"We're not sure," replied the fireman, "I think it has a lot to do with your brakes, are they off?"

"They should be," the guard went back in to check on the brakes, "well here's the problem, they weren't off, I'll have them off in a jiffy!"

He pulled on the lever, but there was a problem - it wouldn't move. The fireman came in to help, but still it wouldn't move. The Driver came to help, but that still made no difference.

"So much for us keeping our promise to Farmer Trotter," groaned the fireman as he and the Driver walked back to the cab.

"I know," he sighed, "and what about the passengers? We'll be late meeting up with Gordon's express at the junction."

"We'll just have to try harder," said Edward, when they came back in and told him the whole ordeal, "it will be difficult, but I'm sure that we can still make it."

"I don't know Edward," said the Driver, "pulling five coaches with one of their brakes hard on, it may be a little too much."

"It's okay," he puffed, "we've had the odds aganist us before, remember?"

"You're right," said the fireman, "Edward has done it many times before, like when he pulled the visitor's train without any siderods or how about when he pushed two trains up Gordon's hill? If he could the impossible back then, then I'm sure he can do it again today."

The Driver agreed, "it will be tough, but we know you can do it Edward."

"I'll try my best."

Edward soon had a good head of steam and was ready to go again, he struggled at first to move the train, "come on! Come on!" he puffed, as clouds of thick smoke poured from his funnel into the air.

At last, the train started on it's way. Although, the journey itself was slow and it was hard on Edward, who was going red in the face. Then there was a sudden jerk and everything became easier.

"We'll find out what happened when we get to the junction," said the Driver, "in the meantime, let's see if we can make up for lost time."

Edward's wheels turned faster and faster as they pounded the rails and they arrived with minutes to spare.

"You were nearly late," said Gordon, "what kept you?"

"I don't know," gasped Edward for breath.

His fireman went to check, while the passengers hurried over to Gordon's express.

Just as Gordon was leaving, the fireman came back, "you're not going to believe me," he sighed, "but it was one tiny nut. It fell from the bag that sat in the last coach and jammed itself aganist the brake handle and that's why we couldn't move it."

"Then how come the last part of the journey was easy?" asked the Driver.

"The brakes on the last coach broke."

"It's really hard to believe that we were nearly late because of a small nut," groaned the Driver, "well let's get that coach in the siding and get the hay bales from Farmer McColl's farm."

Edward shunted the coach into a siding, then he collected some trucks and hurried off to Farmer McColl's farm. He was pleased to see Edward, he and the men quickly loaded up the trucks, then Edward hurried off on his way.

"I hope we will make it, I hope we make it," huffed Edward as he raced along.

When they did arrive at the farm, Edward and his crew could see that there were no pigs in the mud puddle.

"Oh no," groaned Edward's Driver, "we're too late!"

"No you're not," said Farmer Trotter, as he ran up the platform, "you're just in time."

Farmer Trotter collected a few bales of hay and hurried off to the barn. Edward and his crew waited for a long time, then at last Farmer Trotter came out, looking excited.

"Edward," he smiled, "have a look at the new born pigglets!"

He pulled the door back and there was the proud mother pig, with five pigglets nearby and resting peacefully on the nice soft straw.

Farmer Trotter picked up one of the pigs and brought it over to see Edward.

"Ah," he smiled, "it's so cute."

"Thank you for helping Edward," smiled Farmer Trotter, "as a thank you, I'm going to name this little pigglet 'Edward'."

Edward felt honored and thanked Farmer Trotter and whistled a soft "Peep!" as he puffed away. On the way home, Edward and his crew had to agree that they certainly had a 'nutty' day, to say the least.


	30. The Big Misunderstanding

_**The Big Misunderstanding**_

_**Based on "The Missing Trucks"**_

It was a busy time for the engines in the hills, they were kept busy hauling goods and passengers.

Early one morning, Rheneas pulled into the transfer yards after finishing another job, the Thin Controller was already there waiting for him.

"Rheneas, I would like you to collect some slate trucks and take them to the Wharf."

"Yes sir," he puffed.

Before he was to collect his own trucks, Rheneas had to go to the water tower to take on water. Skarloey was already there. Rheneas could see that his old friend was looking tired.

"What's the matter Skarloey?" he asked.

"I'm worn out," he panted, "Duncan broke down a little while ago and I've been doing his jobs as well as my own. If I younger, this wouldn't be a problem, but I can't go dashing around like we did before."

"Yeah I know what you mean, it's not like we're getting any younger."

Skarloey sadly agreed.

"Alright Skarloey," called his Driver, "your bunker is full, now come on, we have our passenger train to collect."

With a small 'peep' from his whistle, Skarloey steamed on his way to the yards. Rheneas felt sorry for his old friend and wondered if he could help him.

After taking on coal and water, Rheneas returned to the transfer yards and got coupled up to the slate trucks. He was soon coupled up to the train and was about to leave when he heard Peter Sam call out to him.

"Skarloey was suppose to take those coal trucks to the Wharf, can you take them?"

"I don't think we should," said Rheneas' Driver, "it will make the train a little heavier."

The fireman had a different opinion, "maybe we can, our Rheneas might be old, but I'm sure that he can pull two trains at once."

"Well only if Rheneas agrees."

Rheneas agreed to give it a try. So after discussing the plan with the yard foreman, they went over to the siding where Skarloey's trucks were waiting and coupled onto them.

"Don't worry," said the foreman, "I'll be sure to tell the Thin Controller about this."

"Thank you," called Rheneas and with a blow of his whistle, Rheneas and his train steamed away from the transfer yards.

But the foreman had been distracted with all the other instructions on which train an engine was suppose to take, that he forgot to tell the Thin Controller about Rheneas' train.

Rheneas was only part way to the Wharf, he was feeling tired as he tried puffing his way up the hill with his trucks. But the train was so heavy, that he came to a complete stop just before the top.

"We won't be able to get a train over the hill," groaned the Driver, "unless we leave half the trucks and come back for them later."

So they reserved Rheneas down the line and into a siding. The fireman uncoupled the coal trucks, then he went to rejoin the Driver in the cab. Now it was easier for Rheneas to puff over the hill with his slate trucks.

Soon he reached the Wharf, he waited to be uncoupled from the slate trucks and went back to the siding to collect the coal trucks. When they returned to the siding, there was trouble - the coal trucks were nowhere to be seen.

"Where have they gone?" Rheneas was in shock.

"Maybe this isn't the siding where we left the trucks," said the fireman, "they do usually look the same."

The Driver quietly agreed, "maybe we should go further down the line and look in other sidings until we find the coal trucks. We don't need Skarloey getting into trouble because of us."

And so they set out on their way, searching along down the line, but it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. They looked in every siding they could see, but the trucks were no where to be seen.

"Maybe they are still in the yards," said Rheneas' Driver, "maybe the coupling broke off."

"I don't think so," said the fireman, "cause I remember uncoupling the coal trucks in the siding."

"Well I'm stumped on where they are," sighed Rheneas.

He soon stopped at a signal, as he waited, Skarloey appeared from the other direction on the other line.

"You're not going to believe this Rheneas," he said, "but some engine has stolen my coal trucks, who would want to do something so foolish?"

"Ah Skarloey, I..."

But he couldn't get any further as Skarloey's signal changed to green and he puffed away.

"That's stange, I thought he would be asking us if we took the trucks to the Wharf."

"Maybe he didn't get the message," said the Driver.

Once the signal had changed to green, Rheneas set out on his way.

When he arrived in the yards, he saw Peter Sam come in with the coal trucks.

"If you wanted some help Rheneas, you could have just asked," he smiled.

Rheneas was about to reply back, when they saw Skarloey return...with the Thin Controller onboard.

"Peter Sam, what are you doing with Skarloey's trucks? I would expect this kind of behaviour from Sir Handel and Duncan, but not from you."

"Sir, I was just trying to help."

"It's my fault sir," said Rheneas, "you see Skarloey's train was late going to the Wharf, so we offered to take the train. We did tell the foreman, he said he was going to tell you."

"But I wasn't told of this."

"Sorry about this," called a voice, it was the foreman, "I was trying to focus on keeping all the trains running to perfect time, that I had forgotten to let you about this."

"It was all just a small misunderstanding really," said Peter Sam quietly.

"We have been a little busy lately," said the Thin Controller cheerfully, "I can understand something like that happening. I'm sorry Peter Sam for misjudging you."

"That's alright sir."

"Sir," called out Rheneas, "would it be okay if I took Skarloey's trucks for him, he has been working hard all day."

The Thin Controller smiled again, "of course you can."

"Thank you old friend," smiled Skarloey, "I'll find a way to repay you back."

Rheneas chuckled, "remember when you helped me up the hill with the dinosaur special? I'd say that makes us even."

And Skarloey happily agreed.


	31. Inclines and Troublesome Boys

_**Inclines and Troublesome Boys**_

_**Based on "Skarloey the Brave"**_

An important part of the narrow gauge railway is the incline, at times it can lower down slate trucks or coal trucks. It works with a little help by gravity. Before going down, the loaded trucks at the top of the incline are attached to a cable and so are the empty ones near the bottom. Then as the loaded trucks are going down, they help pull the empty ones up.

Over the years, there have only been several accidents on the inclines as Peter Sam learned when the trucks broke the cable.

Duncan also learned that lesson the hard way, when his coupling had jammed and he had been towed to the top - then slid down to a muddy pond.

Of course Skarloey remembers the incident where the trucks broke the coupling and crashed into a ravine and caused an alvanache. Many engines take extra care when working with the incline.

One winter morning, Rheneas was bringing some empty coal trucks to the incline. He shunted them carefully into place, then backed slowly away to join Skarloey.

"Better to be safe than sorry," said Skarloey.

"Yes indeed," agreed Rheneas, "but we better be careful now more than ever. It's not just the trucks, but I have heard that some naughty children have been spotted near here causing trouble."

Before Skarloey could say anything, they heard some loud laughing coming from the top of the incline.

"Let's brake away! Let's brake away!" the trucks cried.

They jerked at the coupling, finally snapping it. The trucks started to roll down the incline and roll towards Skarloey. His driver threw his little engine into reserve and they raced along down the line as quickly as they could.

The Driver blew the whistle to warn others, a quick thinking shunter changed the points allowing Skarloey to move into a siding and send the trucks down the other line. The trucks rolled on straight into Rusty's path! Rusty honked his horn loudly and another shunter changed the points just in time! The trucks raced into a siding and into a snowbank!

"Is everyone okay?" called Skarloey.

"Everyone's okay," said Rusty, "we were lucky that the shunters were able to change the points in time."

Soon the Thin Controller arrived and congradulated the two engines for a good job on preventing a serious accident from occuring.

The next afternoon, trouble was about to occur at the incline once more. Skarloey was carefully shunting the trucks and having a serious talk with them.

"You should know that silly stunts like that are dangerous," he told them, "you should be ashamed with yourselves!"

The trucks were sorry at once. Little did Skarloey or his crew know, that a couple of troublesome boys were hiding near by and were eager to play a joke on the engines.

They snuck up behind Skarloey and poured lots of cold water onto the first truck's coupling.

"Oh, that's cold!" he groaned.

But Skarloey didn't hear and neither did his crew.

His Driver and fireman tried to uncouple their engine from the trucks, but found that they couldn't. Then came trouble, the yard foreman thought that Skarloey was uncoupled and so he started the wench. It started to pull the trucks and Skarloey up the steep hill.

"Stop!" cried the Driver, "Skarloey's still attached!"

But the foreman didn't hear them, the wench was louder than normal and it continued to pull Skarloey and his trucks. Rheneas and Duncan had just arrived to do some shunting when they saw Skarloey.

"What are you doing up there?" asked Rheneas in shock.

"I would say that Skarloey is being a daredevil," said Duncan cheekily.

It didn't take too long for Skarloey and his train to reach the top, then that's when the trouble began. The wench suddenly broke and the coupling between Skarloey and the trucks snapped.

"Look out!" he cried as he raced down.

Skarloey dashed away past the two engines and rolled on down the tracks and raced into the snowdrift.

The Thin Controller soon arrived to see what had happened, he was relieved that Skarloey was okay, but he was cross about the entire ordeal.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"I don't know sir," said Skarloey's Driver, "we tried to uncouple Skarloey from his trucks, but we couldn't uncouple him."

"I think I know why you couldn't do that," said one of the other workers, "I saw two young boys fooling around in the yards and saw them pour water onto the coupling on his first truck."

The Thin Controller sighed deeply, "we'll have to find those boys, so I can have a little talk with them. In the meantime, Skarloey, I would like you to take a train of coal to the villages."

"Yes sir," he said.

"How is he going to do that," asked the foreman, "the wench is broken so we can't get the trucks down the hill."

"There is another line to the yards above the incline, Skarloey can use that."

A little later, Skarloey arrived at the yards to collect the coal trucks. When he arrived, he saw Rheneas and Duncan there.

"Well you'll be happy to know that the Thin Controller has caught the troublesome boys," said Duncan, "and judging from the look on his face before, his words to them weren't nice words at all."

"Hopefully they will learn a lesson after this," said Rheneas.

"So do I," said Skarloey as he made his way to the villages.

He made his way threw the mountains slowly and arrived at the village in good timing, "good old Skarloey," they cheered, "thank you for the coal!"

Skarloey smiled brightly.

As for the boys, well...they were punished by their parents when they found out, not only for their stunt, but for also ruining their new shoes in the snow.


	32. Snowmen & Engines

_**Snowmen & Engines**_

_**Based on "Thomas' Frosty Friend"**_

It was a frosty day on the Island of Sodor, Thomas the Tank Engine was puffing along light engine to the docks to collect some logs for Farmer McColl, before returning to his branch line. As he puffed along, he and his crew spotted a red signal.

"Easy does it Thomas," called his Driver.

Thomas braked nice and slowly and stopped beside Percy, who was taking the post train.

"There's more post than ever before," Percy said, "more than I have ever seen in all the years I have been pulling the post train. I'm getting a little dizzy going back and fourth, collecting more post."

"You're not alone," said Thomas, "There are more passengers than ever before, Daisy and I are having long and tiring journeys and Toby is saying that he and Mavis have more work down at the quarry."

"Yep, this year, we've got more than enough work to keep us busy."

"Not even Diesel could ruin all the excitment," agreed Thomas.

Then the two engines looked to a lonely field, there were some children standing around a giant sized snowman. To the engines, the snowman looked a little different from any other snowman they have seen.

"It's a snowman balloon," explained Percy's Driver, "it's suppose to go to the village station on Duck's branch line. It's the Fat Controller's way of saying sorry for Oliver destorying their last snowman."

"But why?" asked Percy, "as I recalled, the children loved having Oliver as their snow-engine."

"Indeed," agreed Thomas, "But I think it's a good idea, just in case Oliver or even James decide to go for a slide."

At that moment, the singal dropped and Thomas was ready to go, "see you later Percy!" he called. Percy whistled happily as Thomas puffed away.

That's when it happened - a strong wind came out of nowhere and started to blow at the snowman. The workmen were just returning after having some hot cocoa, when they saw, to their horror - the hooks holding the snowman down came flying out.

"Oh bother and blow," they groaned, "our snowman's now a runaway!"

The snowman started to float towards the railway, the man tried to catch it, but it was no use. The balloon flew over the fence and flying over towards Thomas. The guide ropes floated over the buffer beams, before they finally caught the buffers.

"It's not a runaway," groaned another workmen, "it's an escapee!"

Thomas and his crew however knew nothing of this as they continued on.

Before long, Thomas came to a crossing, but the gates were closed! The signalman came out of his signalbox to explain why.

"Earlier," he began, "George had a bit of a near miss with Neville's train of water tankers and some of the water spilled out and now it's frozen the crossing gates."

"Don't worry," said Thomas' fireman, "we'll take care of this."

He got out a piece of coal from Thomas' fire, then he brought it over to the gate. He made sure the fire didn't burn the gates, he would move it until at last the ice was gone.

He had just returned to the cab, when out of nowhere, something big, white and wearing a big smile floated in front of Thomas.

"Cinders and Ashes!" Thomas gasped, "where did he come from?"

"Are you seeing this?" asked the fireman.

"I'm seeing it," said the Driver, he was in complete shock, "I'm just wondering why we're carrying a snowman."

The fireman looked back and noticed the guideropes attached to Thomas' buffer beams, "well that explains why our friend is following us," he said.

The Driver then spoke to Thomas, "once we're done our jobs, I'll phone the Fat Controller and inform him of the whole situation."

Thomas wasn't liking this for one second, but knew there was nothing he could do about it. When the gates finally moved away from the line, Thomas set off for the docks.

Farmer McColl isn't the only one who is asking for logs, many farmers and other companies require the logs when they have wood burning fire places.

Thomas soon arrived to collect one of the flatbeds, he was still feeling upset about his 'extra' passenger and was hoping not to be seen, but today was not his day, as James was waiting to take some coal trucks to the stations.

"What are you doing with a snowman balloon?" he asked.

Thomas grunted quietly, he really didn't want to answer.

"Are you planning on being his little snow engine buddy?" James asked cheekily.

Thankfully by now, Thomas' fireman had coupled him up to the flatbed of logs and he soon puffed away, but not before he heard James laughing over his own jokes.

"Take a look everyone!" he cried, "it's Thomas the Snow Engine!"

"Oh shut up!" snapped Thomas and puffed crossly away.

Soon he arrived at Farmer McColl's farm, where he, the workmen and Cyril the fogman were waiting for him.

"Hello there Thomas," said Farmer McColl, "I'm happy to see my logs, but I wasn't expecting to get a snowman."

"I think that's suppose to go to the village station," said Cyril.

"It is," groaned Thomas, who was annoyed by the snowman, "just uncouple me from the trucks and I'll be on my way!"

But it wasn't going to be as easy as Thomas thought. Whenever the workmen tried to uncouple the truck, the snowman would bounce about and block the coupling. Then they tried to remove the logs by hand, but that didn't work as the snowman kept on bouncing about in front of and behind Thomas.

"And people say snowmen are fun," Thomas said sarcastically, "they're more trouble than they look."

At long last, someone was finally able to uncouple Thomas from the truck and he was finally able to puff away.

"I've many strange things in my day," said Cyril, "but that's the first time I have seen an engine taking a snowman on a trip."

Thomas was still fed up when he pulled into Maithwaite station, the signal was red so he had to stop.

"Now would be a good time to phone the Fat Controller," said the Driver.

The fireman agreed and walked into the station. Emily was waiting nearby and couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"I've never seen such a big snowman like that," she giggled, "you're lucky to be taking it Thomas."

Thomas however didn't feel very lucky at all.

The Fat Controller was reading a railroading novel book when the phone rang, "what's that you say?" he asked, "Thomas has got a what on his buffers? I see, then take Thomas to the village station, I'll meet you there."

Thomas was taken down the line and he puffed slowly into the village station where the Fat Controller and Farmer McColl were waiting.

"You weren't kidding," the Fat Controller said to the farmer.

"Please sir, can you please have the workmen take this thing off my buffers?"

"Sure Thomas," he smiled.

"Aren't you a bit mad that I took the snowman?"

"Not at all Thomas. To be honest with you, I wasn't sure how to deliver this balloon to the station, you have saved me a lot of trouble, thank you Thomas."

"Oh, ah...you're welcome," said Thomas.

Soon the snowman was brought over to the field, where the workmen were waiting. They helped to remove the ropes off Thomas' buffers, then they brought the snowman over to the field.

"Thank you Thomas," cried the children, "we love the snowman."

Thomas smiled brightly, "that snowman may have troublesome throughout the journey, but when he's sitting in the field, he does look friendly." Then he called, "don't you go flying away again, Mr. Snowman!"

And everyone just laughed.


	33. Brother's a Bother

_**Brother's a Bother**_

_**Based on "Double Trouble (S13)"**_

There was huge excitment on the Island of Sodor. The Fat Controller's birthday was coming up and some of the engines have been chosen to help with a surprise for him - a birthday party. Everything was going like clockwork, as the engines did what they were told to do. There were no mistakes made and no accidents occured.

To the Fat Controller, who had no idea of what was going on, he was surprised by the way the engines were working.

"I wonder what's gotten into them," he thought to himself, "whatever it is, it's sure keeping them to time."

Of course, when one of the engines saw him, they would just smile and puff or rumble on their way.

Finally, the great day came! Lady Hatt had decided to allow Thomas to collect the Fat Controller and herself and take them to the party at the vicarage orchard on Edward's Branch line.

"We must get to Maithwaite station before 9:00," said Thomas' Driver, "we better get a move on."

"Right," smiled Thomas.

Thomas was brought out of the shed to collect his faithful coaches 'Annie' and 'Clarabel'.

"What about our passengers?" Thomas asked worringly.

"Don't worry," chuckled his Driver, "we'll be back in time for our afternoon passenger train. Till then, Daisy's taking our morning passeners with her own."

"She's never going to let me live it down," Thomas muttered quietly.

Once he was coupled onto the coaches, Thomas set out for Maithwaite station.

Thomas was excited, but he did his best not to get over-confident.

"Must be on time, must be on time," he huffed to himself.

At last he saw Maithwaite station, there were a few people on the platform, including...the Fat Controller. Thomas was surprised to see him alone, and even moreso when he saw a moustache and had a big smile on his face.

"Oh hello sir," panted Thomas, "I'm sorry for being late."

"Thomas, you're not late," he said with a happy smile on his face.

Thomas' fireman checked out his watch and was surprised that they were early.

"We should probably wait till Lady Hatt arrives," he said.

"Actually," called the Fat Controller, "I would like to get going now."

Thomas was surprised, he never heard the Fat Controller say that he would like to go without Lady Hatt, but he knew better than to say anything aganist him. So the Fat Controller climbed on board Annie and they were off.

"Maybe she already got a ride earlier," said the Driver.

"It's possible," added the fireman.

Soon Thomas came up to Henry's forest, the singal was red, so he had to stop. Edward was also there with some children on a field trip.

"Hello Thomas," smiled Edward, "shouldn't you be on your way to the party?"

"I am," then he heard the carriage doors open, then they heard the footsteps of the Fat Controller walking up to them.

"Spendid run Thomas, now don't you worry, I'll be right back."

Edward was surprised and so was his crew, "is that a moustache on his face?" asked Edward's Driver, then he looked over to the forest, "is he playing hide and seek with the children?"

Both Thomas and Edward were indeed surprised by this behaviour.

"I've never seen the Fat Controller act like this before," said Edward.

Thomas had to agree and watched the Fat Controller play with the children for ten long minutes.

"Thank you for the wonderful game youngsters," smiled the Fat Controller, "but now I have to get going."

The children smiled and waved to the Fat Controller as they watched him climb on board Annie. Once the door was closed, Thomas set out on his way.

"The Fat Controller's acting a little strange today," he thought to himself, "I wonder why."

Soon Thomas came upon a junction, but the signal was red and he had to stop again. Whilst he waited, the Fat Controller stepped out of Annie and walked over to the signalbox.

"Oh hello sir," said the signalman, "what can I do for you today?"

"Oh nothing, Mr. Signalman," chuckled the Fat Controller, "I was just wondering if I could work some of the points."

The signalman was surprised, but he didn't argue with the controller of the railway. So the Fat Controller grabbed one of the levers and pulled on it. The points changed on the line next to Thomas, which so happened to be BoCo's line.

"Hello Thomas," called BoCo, "sorry I can't stop but I need to get these trucks to the china clay harbour."

"Wait BoCo!" cried Thomas, "the points are set to the wrong line!"

But he was too late, BoCo was sent down to a runaway siding. His Driver applied the brakes, but it did no good as BoCo went flying into the siding and crashed into the buffers.

"Brake blocks and buffers," groaned the big diesel, "what happened?"

The Driver got down to see what had happened, when he saw the Fat Controller climb down from the signalbox and walk back to Thomas.

"That was fun," he chuckled happily, "now let's be off!"

BoCo's Driver was surprised and so was his engine and so was Thomas.

"That isn't like the Fat Controller at all," Thomas thought to himself, "I wonder why he's acting like this."

Still a little confused about what's been going on, Thomas set out on his way to the party.

He soon puffed past the junction to Edward's branch line and soon pulled into the first station on his line, where the stationmaster was waiting for him.

"Thank goodness you have arrived Thomas," he said, "Bertie has broken down and both Lady Hatt and the Fat Controller are left stranded."

"The Fat Controller?" Thomas and his crew asked.

"Yes, he's with Lady Hatt as the engine who was suppose to collect them left without them."

Now Thomas was really confused, if the Fat Controller was riding on board Bertie, then who was his passenger? He decided to ask him, thankfully he didn't have long to wait, as the man walked over to Thomas' front end.

"Excuse me sir," Thomas asked, "are you Sir Topham Hatt, controller of our railway?"

The man stared at Thomas, then he started to laugh, "of course not, I'm his brother, Sir Loham Hatt. I've come for my brother's birthday party. Now, enough talk, take me to see that traction engine."

"Not just yet," he muttered, he knew who to take Loham Hatt to.

It didn't take long for Thomas to find Bertie, with both of the 'Hatt's' standing close by and looking cross.

"Thomas," said Lady Hatt, "why weren't you at Maithwaite station?"

"There's a good reason," he muttered, "the reason is onboard Annie."

"HELLO!" cried the voice, Sir Loham Hatt opened the door and waved to his brother.

"Oh no," groaned the Fat Controller, "my twin brother, I should have guessed. I see you have been up to your usual tricks again."

"Just like when we young," chuckled Sir Loham.

Thomas' Driver then explained about the little trip with Sir Loham and what happened to BoCo, "you never stop with your silly games," groaned the Fat Controller, "you haven't changed a bit."

He then walked over to Annie, Lady Hatt looked over to Thomas and winked. Thomas knew actually what she wanted him to do.

Once the 'Hatt's' were on board, Thomas puffed on his way to the orchard.

When they arrived, the Fat Controller climbed out to talk to Thomas, "why did you..."

Then there came a loud cry, "SURPRISE!" The Fat Controller was in pure shock to see his many loyal friends standing in the field, along with Trevor. There were plenty of tables with food, a music stage with the brass band waiting and even a banner which said 'Happy Birthday'.

"Happy Birthday Dear," said Lady Hatt.

"Thank you," he smiled.

"Time to party," cried Loham Hatt and jumped out of Annie.

The Fat Controller then looked over to Thomas, "go help BoCo back onto the rails, I'll deal with my brother."

"Yes sir," said Thomas and puffed away.

Thomas soon collected the breakdown train and pulled BoCo back onto the tracks, then after getting the trucks to their proper sights, BoCo and Thomas raced back to the ochard to see the party.

"I think the Fat Controller is having a good time," smiled BoCo's Driver as he looked over.

Then they saw Sir Loham Hatt playing 'chase me' with the children. Then surprising enough, the Fat Controller joined in on the fun.

"They're like two peas in a pod," said Thomas' Driver, "even though Sir Loham is a bother."

"Brother's a bother," mutttered the fireman.

Thomas and BoCo silently agreed with him.


	34. The Whistling Woods

_**The Whistling Woods**_

_**Based on "Toby & the Whistling Woods"**_

A new forest section had just opened on the Fat Controller's railway, it was known as the 'Whistling Woods', not many engines knew why it was called that, but they were looking forward to finding out for themselves. All except for Percy, he was a little scared, but tried his best not to look scared.

One morning after a huge storm had raged across the Island, the Fat Controller came to Ffraquhar to see Percy.

"I would like you to make a special run to the Duke and Duchess' summer house, it got damaged pretty badly during last night's storm. Emily will take care of your shunting duties."

"Yes sir," said Percy.

"The special is waiting for you at Knapford yards - now I have to advise you to use the 'Whistling Woods' line, as most of the other lines are blocked with a few fallen trees."

"Yes sir," poor Percy started to sound a little scared, but he tried not to show it, "I'll do my best."

"That's good, I knew I could count on you."

The Fat Controller walked off back to his car, and Percy puffed away for the big station.

Percy soon arrived and got coupled up to the trucks, just as Diesel rumbled in with oil tankers.

"Where are you going?" he asked in a sly way.

"The Duke and Duchess' summer house, it was damaged during last night's storm."

Diesel growled at this, then he noticed that Percy was looking a little uneasy, "which line are you taking?"

"The new whistling woods line."

Diesel chuckled quietly to himself, he had a devious idea, "it's an okay line, I suppose," he began, "but if you're not careful, the creatures of the woods will get to you."

"What are you talking," Percy asked, he was trying to sound brave.

"I've heard that there are creatures hiding in those woods that have never been seen before and have never seen engines before. They'll do what they can to defend their homes, so they'll try to derail you...and you'll never be seen again."

"You're lying!" Percy snapped.

"Maybe I am, then again...maybe I'm not. Now take my advice and go alone and go as fast as you can, or you'll be lost forever," he cackled with laughter as he rumbled away.

Poor Percy was feeling scared indeed.

"Alright Percy," called his Driver, "it's time to get going!"

"Yes sir," peeped Percy sadly. He blew out a sad scared 'peep' and puffed off for the line to the 'Whistling Woods'.

Even with the grey sky above them, Percy's crew thought today was going to be a beautiful day, but poor Percy certainly didn't.

"Diesel's lied before, especially with Thomas and the Curse of the Cliffs, or Ben and the monster in the Tunnel or even the lies he made about Duck. Although, he did sound like he was being serious."

Soon enough, too soon for Percy, they had arrived at the junction to the 'Whistling Woods'. Neville was there with some coal trucks, "hello Percy, are you going into the Whistling Woods?"

"Yes I am," he squeaked quietly.

"You're lucky, many of the main line engines have been saying that they've wanted to see the new line."

Percy however didn't feel very lucky at all. At last, the signal dropped and the points changed, and Percy puffed slowly but surely into the woods.

It was a little dark inside the forest, there were some strange noises from all around him. Percy didn't look so brave now, he just wanted to get away from the forest. His crew however were indeed interested in the line.

"It looks lovely," they smiled, "I think we are lucky."

So far so good, it seemed to Percy, then that's when he heard the sounds. First was a howling sound from a creature.

"What was that?" Percy asked nervously.

Then there came a thunderous roar from nearby, then came a loud whistling noise from nearby. Percy stopped right then and there, "it's too scary, get me out of the woods!"

"Come on Percy," said his Driver, "we have to keep going, we're almost there."

"I don't care, take me back!"

The crew tried arguing with Percy, but he was being too stubborn and so they had to go back.

"I never want to go back to this scary woods, ever!" cried Percy.

As they backed out of the forest, they hadn't noticed the coal trucks that Neville had left behind, but Toby did.

"Stop Percy!" he cried, "Neville's coal trucks are behind you!"

Percy didn't hear, until he ran smack into the trucks, "what happened?" he asked.

"You ran into Neville's trucks," groaned the fireman, "this wouldn't have happened if you had been willing to go through the Whistling Woods."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going back in there."

"Is something wrong Percy?" Toby asked as he pulled up alongside.

Percy sighed deeply and he told Toby all that Diesel had said to him, "he's telling the truth, I heard a loud howling sound, then a thunderous roar and a loud whistling noise, there are creatures in there that don't like engines."

Toby smiled a small smile, "Percy my old friend, Diesel was just trying to pull your wheels, there's nothing to be scared of."

"How do you know Toby?"

"I know, cause I was one of the engines who helped to build the line. If I had seen one of those 'mysterious' creatures, I would have told you and the other engines back at the sheds."

Percy still didn't look convinced.

"Tell you what, I'll go with you through the woods, I got some time before my next train."

"You mean it?"

"Of course."

Right away, Percy began to feel a little better. Toby was switched over to Percy's line and was coupled on, then the two engines puffed their way back into the Whistling Woods.

Percy looked nervously around, Toby tried to calm his good friend down. Then there came the loud howling sound, "what was that?" Percy asked nervously.

"That's just a snowy white owl," Toby smiled, "they're usually up at night, it's a rare sight to see one during the day."

Percy looked and saw flying to his left, the snowy white owl flying beside him, he felt a little better. The owl flew beside them to the spot where the thunderous roar was.

"And what is that?"

"That Percy," smiled Toby, "is the waterfalls in this forest, I think it's the only forest with a waterfall."

Percy looked again and saw the waterfall.

"It's wonderful," he gasped, then he heard the whistling noise, "and what's that?"

Toby chuckled quietly, "that's the reason the woods is known as 'The Whistling Woods', it's the wind that blows through here, sounds like whistling."

Percy was amazed, he listened in to the whistling noise and looking to the snowy white owl, still flying alongside.

"Diesel was wrong again," Percy chuckled, "I should never have believed him. Thank you for your help Toby."

"Always glad to help a friend in need."

Toby was proud of his friend, he looked to the snowy white owl and winked at it. Then the owl flew away as the two engines puffed out of the woods.

"Well Percy, I'm needed elsewhere, I'll see you back at the sheds tonight."

Toby rang his bell, then he puffed away. Percy whistled back as he puffed his way to the Duke and Duchess' summer house. The workmen there were happy to see him, they thanked him for getting the supplies to them. Percy smiled happily, then he puffed off back to the sheds.

After the long day's work, Percy pulled in beside Toby at the sheds.

"Thanks again for all your help Toby, I would never have been able to get through the woods without your help."

"Oh I'm sure you would have found a way," smiled Toby.

"Still if I ever see Diesel again, I'll give him a piece of my mind."

Toby chuckled, "I'm afraid you're a little late for that, I already spoke to him, in a 'ghostly' way," he blew off his small whistle. Percy understood completely and chuckled quietly to himself.


	35. Good Old Henry

_**Good Old Henry**_

_**Based on "Henry's Lucky Day"**_

When winter comes along, it also means lots of snow on the lines. Donald and Douglas would be hard at work, clearing the main lines, but since they couldn't be everywhere, the other engines had to help too. Because of all the extra work, the engines were often late...all except for Henry.

The big green engine was always on time with his trains.

"I think we're lucky today Henry," called his Driver, "no snow on our lines and we're always on time, you're doing a great job!"

Henry was very proud of this.

After a long day's work, Henry was backed into his engine berth and noticed the Fat Controller standing close by and looking very proud, "I heard that you were doing a fantastic today Henry, all your trains were to time and I recieved no complints from you. You have done this railway proud, good old Henry."

The Fat Controller was still smiling as he walked out of the sheds and drove off for home.

"He's right you know," said his Driver, "you've done so well that you and Thomas are the only engines in the sheds right now."

Henry looked and sure enough, there were no other engines in the sheds, apart from Thomas.

"Percy and I have to stay here," said Thomas, "the roof of our shed caved in the other night and the workmen are taking their time repairing the roof. Still you should be proud of yourself, you have done a fantastic job and did you hear what the Fat Controller said to you? He called you 'Good Old Henry', that's a high honor indeed."

Soon seven of the engines were sleeping in Tidmouth Sheds, except for Henry, he was thinking about what Thomas had said.

"Good old Henry," he thought happily to himself, "I like the sound of that."

With that happy thought in his mind, Henry went happily to sleep.

The next morning, Henry went to the Wharf to get some instructions from the Fat Controller. As he waited, he noticed that Thomas was the only engine there.

"What are you doing here Thomas?"

"I have to help with other jobs, there isn't that much on my branch line today. What about you Henry?"

Before the big green engine could answer, the Fat Controller walked up to him.

"Henry, I would like you to collect the presents train and take it to all the stations on the main line. Be careful as you go along the line, we had another snowstorm last night."

"I'll be careful sir," said Henry, "you can always count on 'Good Old Henry'."

"I know I can count on you."

Henry made his way down the line, light engine. All was going well until he reached a canyon, lots of snow poured down the stone walls and fell down onto Henry's line.

"Well the Fat Controller did say to watch out as we go along," he groaned.

"Come on old boy," called his Driver, "we'll have to back down the line and try another line."

And so they did, Henry backed down the line and down another part of the main line. He hoped nothing else would go wrong, but he was proven quite wrong. Up ahead he could see James and Molly, and a huge pile of pipes on the line!

"What happened?" asked Henry's Driver.

"The sides of my trucks fell off," grumbled James, "it's all their fault, they were bouncing about too much."

"You're certainly not being 'Good Old James'," chuckled Henry.

"Oh shut up!"

"Now, now," soothed Molly, "there's no need to argue, we'll soon have the line cleared."

"That's right," called Rocky, "just give me a few minutes!"

And so, Henry waited. Rocky worked his hardest and in a short while, he had the lines cleared and Henry could set out on his way again.

The rest of the journey went as smooth as silk, Henry was starting to feel a little better as he continued along.

"We're almost at the airport Henry," called his Driver.

And so Henry picked up speed and went threw the forest, a little too fast. He couldn't have known that the lines were covered in ice, "Slow Down Henry!" cried Edward.

Henry's Driver went to apply the brakes, but Henry couldn't stop in time. He crashed into Edward's trucks, smashing them into pieces.

"Sorry," groaned Henry, "so much for being 'Good Old Henry', I'm going to be late to collect the present's train and I've broken these trucks."

"Accidents can happen Henry," said Edward kindly, "I'm sure the Fat Controller will understand."

"I guess so, but will he understand about the delays during the trip?"

"I'm sure he will. Now don't worry about the trucks, I'll deal with them, you better get going."

When Henry had switched off the siding, he and his crew continued on their way to the airport. Soon they reached Gordon's hill, Henry tried his best, but he couldn't make it to the top and slid down the hill with his brakes hard on.

"Can't give up," Henry said out loud, "can't give up!"

His crew waited till Henry had enough steam, then they tried again. Henry's slipped more than once, but he kept on going, until he finally reached the top of the hill and over the other side.

Soon Henry arrived at the airport and got coupled up to the trucks, then with a blow of the guard's whistle, Henry was on his way again. He made excellent timing as he went from one station to another.

Everywhere he went, Henry would hear the children say "Good Old Henry." Henry felt proud of the work he was doing and would blow a soft 'peep peep' everytime. Soon Henry arrived at the last station he needed to stop at, people and children for him and told him that he was 'Good Old Henry'.

"Well Henry," said his Driver, "despite the minor problems, we managed to deliver the presents on time. Well done 'Good Old Henry'."

"Thank you," he smiled, "I'm just glad we got the job done on time."

"And I'm sure the Fat Controller will be pleased with you."

"Indeed I am," called a familar voice, it was the Fat Controller standing on the platform, "I heard your minor accident from Edward and I have to agree with your crew that you have done a wonderful job Henry."

"Thank you sir."

"It's no wonder why you're 'Good Old Henry'," he said as he left the platform. Henry was left speechless, so all he did was whistle happily, he just felt proud to be 'Henry The Good Old, Reliable Green Engine'.


	36. Rushing in the Dark

_**Rushing in the Dark**_

_**Based on "James in the Dark"**_

It had been a very busy day on the Island of Sodor. The engines had been working hard, taking supplies for the concert at the town hall that night.

James had been working throughout the afternoon with passenger runs and now he was looking forward to a rest after dropping off the passengers of his last passenger train of the day. When he came into the big station, James could see the Fat Controller waiting close by.

"James, I need you to do one more job before you return to the sheds tonight. I need you to collect Alicia Botti and the Brass Band and take them to the town hall."

"Of course sir," James smiled, "I'd be happy to do that."

"Very well then. First though, I would like you to go to the steamworks to have your lamp fitted."

"Right away sir."

The passengers were now off the train, James took his coaches back to the coach yard and he was on his way.

James was soon puffing into the steamworks, Victor was waiting close by on his line.

"Hello my friend," he called, "what can I do for you?"

"I need to have my lamp installed, I have an important job to do tonight."

"Okay then - Kevin, can you bring out James' lamp?"

"Yes boss, right away boss!" Kevin raced to the back of the shop, grabbed onto James' lamp and raced back. When Kevin returned to the front of the shop, he stopped too quickly and the lamp flew off his hook and fell onto the ground with a huge smash!

"Sorry boss," Kevin groaned, "slip of the hook."

"It's okay Kevin, accidents can happen."

Kevin then left for another part of the shop, without saying another word.

"Now what am I going to do without a lamp?" James asked crossly, "it's going to be pitch black out there tonight."

"Can't be helped James," said his Driver, "we need to get going!"

James sadly agreed and so he got turned around and left, just as Kevin returned with another lamp.

"James, wait!" he cried, "I've got another lamp for you!"

"Too late," groaned Victor, "James is already on his way."

As James had said before, it was pitch black out tonight. There were no stars out, there was a new moon out tonight and there weren't any latterns beside the line, so James found it hard to see.

"I'll be just fine," he said nervously, "I should know the lines off by heart."

Although James wasn't sure about this.

He soon came up to a junction, an engine's lamp was shining in the dark. James could only see a small portion of the engine's face, he couldn't tell who it was.

"Hello James," the engine called, "where's your lamp?"

"Mine was broken by Kevin, now I must be off. I have important passengers to collect, I'll see you later Henry!"

The engine was shocked, "I'm not Henry," he cried, "I'm Duck!"

James however didn't hear him as he puffed away.

At the steamworks, Douglas had arrived to have a new set of buffers added on. Kevin came over to see him.

"Are you going past the town hall tonight?" he asked.

"I am," answered Douglas, "I'm headin' that way."

"Then you please take something to James as you go along? It's his spare lamp, I couldn't give it to him because he left in too big of a hurry."

"Dinna fesh yurself Kevin," smiled Douglas, "we'll be mure than glad to take yon lamp to James."

Within minutes, Kevin had lowered the lamp carefully into Douglas' cab. Then after his new buffers were placed on, Douglas raced off to find James.

James in the meanwhile was having a difficult seeing where he was going, not even his crew could tell where they were.

"We must be getting close to Maron station by now," said the Driver.

"We wouldn't be having this problem, if we had waited in the steamworks for..."

"Your lamp is broken James!" said his fireman, "there was nothing we could do."

James wasn't so sure, until at last, he saw a station coming into view.

"See," said the Driver with a confident tone in his voice, "we found Maron station, we can do our job, even without a lamp."

What James and his crew didn't know, was that the station they were at wasn't Maron. It was Cronk station and they were collecting Farmer McColl and Farmer Trotter, they were waiting for a train to take them to the junction for Edward's Branch line.

"All aboard!" called James' Driver.

The passengers climed into the coaches and James puffed away.

Meanwhile, Douglas was puffing along with a goods train. As he puffed along, he was keeping a look out for James. He didn't find James, but he did find Duck with his load of ballast trucks.

"Have yoo seen yon James anywhere?" Douglas asked, "I have somethin' for him."

"Last I saw James, he was puffing off to Cronk station."

Douglas thanked Duck and he puffed away to Cronk Station.

When he arrived, he was greeted by the stationmaster, who was looking a little confused. He wasn't alone, as Charlie was nearby with some empty coaches.

"I was suppose to collect the two farmers," he was saying, "but they're no where to be seen."

"I heard a train coming through here earlier," said the stationmaster, "I thought that was Charlie, until I saw him out here."

Douglas poundered on the situation for a while, "maybe they are with James," he said, "he doesna have a lamp, so..."

"He stole my passengers," Charlie interupted angerily, "if I ever see him, I'll..."

The rest of Charlie's sentence was cut off, as Douglas had blown his whistle and puffed away down the line.

James was still puffing along, with zero visibilty, "I wish I could see, I wish I could see," he groaned.

Then he heard a loud clang, it sounded like a signal.

"It must an all clear signal," said the Driver, "let's keep going!"

What they didn't know, was that the signal had risen to 'danger'. They had no idea that another train was coming down the same line. It was Oliver with his post train. James didn't see Oliver coming, until much too late.

James and Oliver's crews applied the brakes, but they didn't work as the two engines went bashing into each other.

"What happened?" James groaned.

Oliver however was cross, "you silly engine," he snapped, "I was due to come through on this line, you were suppose to be in the siding."

"Sorry about that, Stanley."

"Stanley?" Oliver was shocked, "are your blind or something, it's Oliver!"

It was then that Douglas arrived, his lamp shone brightly on what had happened. James could see that he had indeed run into Oliver's buffers and now could see that he had collected the wrong passengers.

"Oh dear," groaned James' Driver, "I guess we should have waited at the steamworks."

"Indeed yoo should have," said Douglas firmly, "cause litta Kevin had found yoo another lamp. He canna give it to yoo as yoo had raced away to wurk too quickly."

"See?" said James, "we should have waited."

"Yes, we should have. Sorry about this James and you too Oliver."

Thankfully there wasn't much damage done, so James was able to back down the line to a siding. The Driver and fireman placed the spare lamp on, it looked similar to Hiro's lamp.

"Alright now," said the Driver, "we better get going."

"What about our other passengers?" James asked.

"I'll take them to Cronk," said Oliver, "as long as they don't mind riding in my cab."

"Not at all," said the two farmers in unison.

So they climbed on board into Oliver's cab and the great western engine puffed away once more. Then James set out with his new lattern shining brightly. They arrived at Maron station, then they raced off to the town hall.

James was only a few minutes late, but his important passengers didn't mind at all.

"We're happy that you came to get us," they said happily.

During the concert, James offered up his lamp for the show, everyone was pleased to have a big lamp like that, light up the show.

"Well I guess we have to learn a little more patience," said the Driver, "so that something like this won't happen again."

James was determined to make sure it wouldn't happen. As for Charlie, he got his passengers from Oliver and arrived a few minutes late, but the farmers didn't mind at all. Just goes to show you that rushing in the dark, can lead to trouble.


	37. Don't Cross That Bridge!

_**Don't Cross That Bridge!**_

_**Based on "Trusty Rusty"**_

For many years, the Thin Controller has always relied on Rusty to keep make sure that all the tracks that travel through the mountains are in good working order. Ever since he and Mr. Hugh had restored the line, there have been a limit of problems, but one day, there was a problem.

Rusty was crossing over a wooden bridge, when he felt a bump.

"Rattle my buffers," he gasped, "what was that?"

His Driver looked out and noticed the full situation, "there are some cracks in the supports," he said, "if not attended to, they could fall apart and fall into the water below. We better warn the other engines and Mister Percival."

"Agreed," said the little diesel and raced off for the yards.

Once he reached the yards, he advised all the engines to not use the bridge.

"It's too dangerous," he was saying, "if you cross that bridge, then there's no telling what could happen."

"Pah!" snorted Duncan, "I bet the bridge isn't as bad as you say."

Duncan had been working hard all morning and was in a very bad mood, he didn't mean what he said to Rusty. Still, he snorted crossly away and without taking on anymore coal.

Rusty hurried off to the top station to speak with the Thin Controller.

"Sir!" he called, "the old wooden bridge is unsafe!"

And Rusty told him all about what his Driver had told him. The Thin Controller listened carefully, "thank you for informing me of the full situation and by the sounds of it, it was just in the nick of time. I shall ask Mr. Hugh and the men to fix the bridge, in the meantime, nobody is to use it."

"Not to worry sir," said Rusty's Driver, "we've already put a 'line closed' sign to warn the other engines."

"Most excellent," he smiled, "well done you two, now you can go and collect your next train."

The other little engines had to take other routes, going the long way around. Sir Handel complained bitterly about being late with his train, but no one really payed any attention.

The bridge would have stayed in place, had it not been for one engine and his crew's rush to get to the yards.

Duncan puffed into the coaling stage, only to find that all the coal had been taken.

"Sorry," called the yard manager, "Sir Handel had just taken the last load a little while ago, Rheneas has gone to collect more."

But Duncan didn't want to wait, he was being too impatient, "I need to get more coal or I'll be stuck on the main line. Where's the nearest coal bunker?"

"It's on the other side of the old wooden bridge," said Skarloey, "but you'll never reach it on your small amount."

"I will, if I go over the bridge."

"You can't, the bridge is unsafe, remember what Rusty said?"

"Pah! Rusty makes things sound worse than they really are."

Even Duncan's Driver was quick to agree, "I'm sure one trip across the old wooden bridge wouldn't hurt."

Before Skarloey or his crew could say anymore, Duncan was on his way again.

When they got to the bridge, Duncan's Driver removed the sign and they were on their way to the bridge, which was going to be a big mistake.

Duncan rolled onto the bridge, but with his short amount of coal, he couldn't get all the way to the other side. He stopped halfway across.

"Bother," he grumbled.

Then they heard a loud splash!

"What was that?" he asked.

Duncan's fireman looked out, "ah Duncan, do you remember the old ghost story that Rusty had to told you about? The story of where the engine fell into the ravine?"

"Yes, why?"

"Cause, I think we're about to find out what that engine felt!" he shouted as more pieces fell in the waters below, "the bridge is falling apart!"

Rusty had just arrived, light engine, by the fueling station, Skarloey wanted to talk to him.

"Duncan's gone and ignored your warnings again," he said angerily, "he's going to cross the old wooden bridge and without alot of coal in his bunker."

"That silly engine," grumbled the little diesel, "alright, I'll go see if he's okay."

But Duncan wasn't okay, the bridge was now starting to fall apart. Beams started to snap, nearly sending Duncan into the water and more timber pieces fell into the water.

"HELP!" shouted Duncan and his crew.

Thankfully, their calls for help were soon answered by the sound of a diesel horn. It was Rusty, he was shocked to see what was going on, still he had to help.

So he rolled onto the bridge slowly, then once his driver had coupled him up, Rusty tugged and pulled, till he was able to pull Duncan off the bridge.

"I told you not to use that bridge," snapped Rusty angerily, "you're lucky that I came!"

They were just clear of the bridge, when that one section fell into the water with a big splash!

That night, the Thin Controller came into see Duncan, he did not look happy, "I heard about what you did," he said angerily, "that was a very dangerous thing to do. To add on top of all that, the bridge is now broken and will take time to fix. You and your crew will be in charge of that and nothing else."

"Yes sir, sorry sir," groaned Duncan quietly.

Then the Thin Controller spoke to Rusty, "you were very brave to cross that bridge, I'm proud of you Rusty and your driver for what you did. As a reward, you shall recieve a new coat of paint and you can do Duncan's other jobs till he's learned a lesson."

"Yes sir, thank you," smiled Rusty.

"Your actions," said Duke, "would certainly make his grace very proud."

To hear Duke say that, made Rusty feel very happy. As for Duncan, well, maybe he and his Driver will learn to never attempt crossing over a broken bridge again, if they knew what was good for them.


	38. Speeding Up and Sliding

_**Speeding Up and Sliding**_

_**Based on "Keeping Up with James"**_

It was wintertime on Sodor, a thick blanket of snow layed over the tracks of both the branch lines and the main lines. Donald and Douglas were already doing all they could, but they couldn't be everywhere. So the Fat Controller asked both James and Edward to help out.

Both engines weren't as heavy as Gordon or some of the other main line engines, plus they could go on the branch lines, unlike the other main line engines. Which was obvious to the Fat Controller, but James was not happy.

"If there is one job I hate, besides shunting trucks, it's snowplough duites!" he said angerily.

"Nothing we can do James," said his Driver, "it's the Fat Controller's orders."

Speaking of which, the Fat Controller showed up, "I have an important job for one of two engines," he said, "you are to pull the presents train from the docks and take it to Knapford," he paused impressively, "James, you shall take the train...after you're done helping Edward."

James was thrilled for the special, but so much about working with Edward.

"Sir, do I have to do this job? This snowplough makes me feel uncomfortable!"

"You have to wear it James," he said sternly, "you don't want to end up like Thomas did many years ago, now do you? And yes, you have to do the job, cause you and Edward are the only strong engines I have that can clear both sets of lines."

James knew better than to go aganist the Fat Controller's orders, but he was still feeling cross, "just try to keep up with me!" he snapped at Edward, "I don't want to be held back by you."

"Sorry about that," called James' Driver, "it's just him."

"Yes, we know," said Edward, gravely.

The two engines were soon out on the lines, clearing the snow away. At first, they were working fine just puffing along, side by side, but James soon grew bored and wanted to work faster.

"Hurry up slowcoach!" he snapped.

Edward didn't rush, he just took his time down the line.

"Slow down James!" cried his Driver, "there's no need to rush!"

But James did rush, he went down the line at a fast pace. So fast, that he raced past Henry, who was on his way back to the big station for a goods train for the docks.

"Slow down, James!" shouted Henry, "the tracks ahead are icey!"

Still he didn't listen, James was still thinking about pulling the presents train. In fact, he was thinking about it so much, that he didn't notice how icey the line was, until he felt his wheels slip.

"Oh my," cried James.

As he skidded down the line, he began to go faster and faster. James was starting to like this, "YAHOO!" he shouted.

His Driver slammed on the brakes, but James wouldn't stop, until he reached the next station.

"That was very dangerous of what you just did," snapped his Driver crossly, "I think it would be safer for all of us, if you didn't speed up again."

James heard him, but he payed no attention.

After the snowplough duties were done, James arrived at the big station to collect some coal trucks and take them to the coaling plant. Whilst he waited for Edward to arrive, James listened to the children singing christmas carols and watched the workers putting up decorations.

"Wait till they see me come in with the presents train," he said proudly.

"Just make sure you take care," said his Driver firmly.

James heard him, but once again, he payed no attention.

At long last, Edward had arrived, "sorry I'm late," he called, "I had to clear the lines to Maithwaite, which took a long time."

"It didn't take me long to finish," snapped James, "you should try speeding up and sliding, that might get the job done faster!"

Once Edward was finally coupled up, James puffed on his way. But he left too quickly, he pulled on the trucks before Edward could start, they were strecthed between the two engines, till Edward started.

The Trucks didn't like that and wanted to get back at someone, "Edward isn't our main target," they said, "he wouldn't do that on purpose, but James would. Pay him out! Pay him out!"

They waited till they got to the top of the hill, then once James was going down the other side, they put their plan into action.

"Now! ON! ON! ON!" they shouted.

They began to push James down the hill at an alarming rate, Edward tried to brake, but James was going too fast down the hill. He didn't seem to mind, he thought it was fun, "now you trucks are speaking my language!" he chuckled as they raced to the bottom of the hill.

They were soon at the coaling plant, and the trucks were now loaded with plenty of coal.

Edward called out to James, "you need to take care James!" he called, "you're lucky we got down that hill safely, next time you try that, you might not be so lucky."

"Oh quit being an old fuddy duddy," James snickered, "there's no danger with speeding up or sliding, you just need to try keeping up with me."

James chuckled as his driver opened the regulator and he started away again, too quickly. The trucks were strecthed again, till Edward started.

"We'll pay him out, we'll pay him out," the trucks said to each other.

The journey went well for the two engines, till James' foolish pride got the better of him again and he started to speed up.

"Hurry up! Hurry up!" James shouted.

"Slow down! Slow down!" called Edward, "Take care! Take care!"

James payed no attention to Edward, he was determined, too determined for his own good. The trucks were tired of being strecthed between the two engines and decided that now was the time to act.

"Go on! Go on! Go on!" they shouted.

James thought that they wanted to have fun, until he felt his wheels slip frantically on the rails. He didn't think it was so fun now! His Driver applied the brakes, but they were useless aganist the loaded surging trucks. Edward's Driver applied his brakes, but they didn't work.

Then they came to a spot of the line, that worse than most. James slipped and slid over the spot - and crashed into the snow.

"Ohhh!" he groaned.

"We did try to warn you," called Edward.

James' Driver and fireman went to phone for help, and soon, Salty arrived to help clear up the mess. He wasn't alone, the Fat Controller was riding in his cab.

"James," he boomed, "I warned you to be careful today, and yet you decided to do your jobs in a dangerous way, I am most displeased with you. Because of your reckless actions, I have decided that you shall not pull the present's train. Edward will take the train, since he is a reliable and careful engine."

Edward was pleased, but he was concerned for James.

"As for you, James," continued the Fat Controller, "you shall stay in the snow, until a certain time when we can bring you back to the rails."

"Begging your pardon, sir," called Edward, "but I was wondering if you would allow James to work with me? It is close to christmas after all, and it wouldn't be right to leave him here and let him miss out on the fun."

The Fat Controller sighed deeply, "you have a good point there, Edward," he said, then he looked back down to the sad James, "you are to work as Edward's back engine and no other jobs, till I say so."

"Yes sir," said James quietly, "and thank you Edward, I don't why you bothered after what I did."

"Oh well," smiled Edward, "it is close to Christmas after all, where we think of others."

Once Edward was coupled up to James, he huffed and puffed as much as he could, and at last, James was back on the rails. He wasn't hurt, so once the snow was cleared away, and the coal trucks were delivered to the docks, the two engines set off together with the presents train.

Whenever they came to some icey patches, Edward called out to James, "Slow down!" and "apply your brakes!" And that is what James did.

Soon, the two engines arrived at the big station, where lots of people were waiting for them who cheered to the echo! James was proud to see everybody's smiling faces, especially Edward.

"I'm going to try to be a better engine," smiled James, "if you'll help me."

"Of course I will," smiled Edward, "just remember to be careful when ice is on the rails."

"Otherwise," chuckled James' Driver, "you'll make a snow engine out of yourself."

Even though his Driver was only joking, James did agree with him, and Edward.


	39. Thomas, Diesel and the Jobi Wood

_**Part 1**_

_**Thomas, Diesel & the Jobi Wood**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

It was summertime on the Island of Sodor, the engines were busy, taking goods and passengers where they were needed. No matter what the job though, they always found the time to talk with their friends, small or large, and talk about the day's events.

There was a lot of excitment, as a brand search and rescue centre was being built on the Island.

One day, Harold flew to the search and rescue centre, where Duck, Thomas and the Fat Controller were waiting. Harold had been taken to the mountains to rescue a climber that was involved in an accident.

"All present and correct," called Harold, "everyone is safe and sound now!"

"Well done Harold!" called the Fat Controller.

"Thank you sir," smiled Harold, as his pilot lowered him inside of empty building, "it's kind of a tight squeeze coming in here sir. Is this going to be my hanger?"

"No, of course not," The Fat Controller chuckled, "your new hanger is to the left of you."

"Terrific."

"Rocky, your new shed is going to be close to the rescue centre, you'll be sharing it with Harvey."

Rocky was surprised, "I've never been in a shed before, it sounds great."

The Fat Controller then walked over to the water front, where a brand new rescue boat could be seen, "And Captain, you will have a shed of your own, close to the water."

"Most excellent sir," smiled Captain, "I'm looking forward to it, I'm ready and eager to go!"

"And is this spot where the centre going to be?" asked Thomas, who was in front of the building that Harold had landed in.

"Yes indeed Thomas," smiled the Fat Controller, "it will be here in the middle of the site. This is where all the workers will be, until an emergency comes into play. It will never be knocked by any winds, cause it's being made out of the strongest wood ever...Jobi Wood."

Then the Fat Controller turned his attention over to Duck, "I want you to take the climber to Knapford, Bertie will take him to the hospital, then I want you to go to the docks and help Charlie shunt."

"Yes sir," said the Great Western Engine happily.

"And Thomas, I would like you to go to the yards and shunt some trucks of bricks and other materials for Hank to bring later."

"Yes sir."

The engines were really busy that day, Henry and Edward were doubleheading trains of steel rails, Oliver and Emily were busy with ballast trucks, Gordon and Murdoch were taking wood and steel and Stanley and Billy were in charge of bringing the workmen.

At the docks, Duck was arranging some flatbeds into place, while Cranky the Crane was busy unloading the Jobi wood. Hiro was nearby, he had brought back to Sodor to help with the construction work of the centre.

"This Jobi wood comes all the way from Japan," he was saying to Duck, "it's the strongest wood in the entire world, no gale force winds can break it or blow it down, it is very special. There are one...or two islands that have it, but nobody knows where else to find it."

At that moment, Hiro was coupled up to his trucks and he puffed on his way to the big station.

Duck moved the last line of trucks into place, just as Diesel arrived, he was looking cross.

"Why isn't the Fat Controller giving me any important jobs to do?" he asked angerily, "I could be just as useful as any of you steam engines."

"It's because you're too rough with the trucks," said Duck firmly, "plus you have a history of causing trouble."

With the logs now loaded onto the flatbeds, Duck puffed away to shunt other trucks. Diesel glared over to the trucks angerily, "why that Duck! I can be careful with trucks and stay out of trouble!"

"Then why don't we?" suggested his Driver, "we could take the trucks for the Fat Controller, then he's bound to see how useful you are."

"Yes," sniggered Diesel, "that could work."

So Diesel was switched over to the line of Jobi Log trucks, then growling in a furious way, Diesel pushed the log trucks away.

"What do you think you're doing?" cried Cranky from above.

"Matey, stop!" shouted Salty, "you're not suppose to take those trucks!"

Diesel and his Driver just didn't listen, they were eager to take the Jobi logs and nothing was going to stop them.

" 'I'm always causing trouble,' they always say, 'I'm too rough with trucks', well, I'll show them! I'll show them! I'll be praised for this good deed, that I will be known as the best engine of the Fat Controller's fleet."

At the yards, Thomas had just arranging the last of the brick trucks for Hank, when he heard a loud diesel horn.

"It's Diesel," he gasped, "and he's got the Jobi logs! STOP, DIESEL, STOP!" he shouted.

Diesel heard, but he didn't stop, he wanted to deliver the Jobi Wood himself, "forget it! This train is mine!"

"He's going to run into trouble before he reaches the site," said the Driver, "the bridge along the line he's travelling on, isn't finished yet."

"He'll crash before he reaches the site," gasped the fireman.

"Not if we catch up to him," said Thomas, "I know it will mean going aganist the rules to race down the line without a train, but what choice do we have?"

The Driver and fireman agreed, and without delaying a second, Thomas was reserved down the line, the fireman changed the points, then jumped back into the cab as Thomas began his chase after Diesel.

Thomas' wheels pounded the rails, his cheeks were turning red and his fire was burning brighter than ever. He was using all the steam he had to catch up to Diesel.

"Stop, Diesel! Stop!" he shouted.

Diesel however didn't stop, he contined to build his speed up. He and his Driver were determined to get to the site before Thomas.

Thomas kept on trying, puff by puff, but he wasn't able to catch up to Diesel's buffers.

"We probably block his way at the junction," he suggested.

Diesel heard the plan, "no you don't," he said devillishly, and sped on even faster.

He rolled past a signalbox, just as the signal turned to red. Thomas' Driver slammed on the brakes and Thomas came to a grinding hault.

"Before those red signals," groaned Thomas, "now I may never catch Diesel."

"What are you doing racing down the line?" asked the signalman, "and without a train, the Fat Controller won't be..."

"Never mind!" shouted the Driver, "just change the points quickly! Diesel's stolen the Jobi logs and he's racing to an unfinished bridge!"

"Change the signal!" shouted the fireman.

"Not till BoCo passes by with his train!"

They didn't have to wait too long, as BoCo came rattling by with his train. Then once the signal changed to green, Thomas started off again.

"Oh, we may never catch Diesel."

Diesel was also thinking the same thing, "we're almost there," he cheered.

"Now the Fat Controller will call you really useful," said his Driver.

Just then, they heard some frantic whistling. Diesel's Driver looked back and noticed huge puffs of smoke over the trees and coming straight towards them, it was Thomas!

"Diesel! Please stop! If you don't, then you'll hurt someone, even yourself!"

"Not a chance!" roared Diesel and continued to race along.

"We must catch Diesel! We must!" panted Thomas.

Suddenly, they saw a notice ahead, which read 'Bridge still under construction! Proceed with caution.'

Diesel and his Driver hadn't seen the sign and were now racing dangerously up the hill, his wheels spun furiously towards the top.

"Stop, Diesel! Stop!" cried Thomas and his crew together.

Diesel and his Driver took no noticed again and raced on even further, up the hill and then down the other side. Then there was trouble, Diesel could see that the bridge wasn't finished yet.

"GREASE AND OIL!" he spluttered, "STOP! PLEASE STOP!"

Diesel's Driver slammed on the brakes, but they were useless as the trucks began to pull Diesel towards the edge of the gap. One by one, the trucks fell into the ravine, until three were left. Disaster was now three trucks away - CRASH! - then two - CRASH!

"HELP!" shierked Diesel again.

The last truck pulled Diesel towards the edge of the bridge, until the coupling snapped - CRASH! and disappeared into the waters below.

Now Diesel was half on and half off the bridge.

"HHHHHHEEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPPPP!" shouted Diesel and his driver in fear. Diesel's wheels spun furiously as he tried to get back onto the solid steel rails.

Thomas soon pulled up and saw all.

"Don't move, Diesel!" he cried, "we'll safe you!"

Diesel's Driver stopped his engine from spinning his wheels, while Thomas' fireman got down to couple Thomas to the diesel shunter.

"Alright Thomas," said his Driver, "Easy does it now."

Thomas strained as he pulled, wheel turn by wheel turn, huff by puff. It was harder than they all thought, but at last, Diesel began to move back to the safe end of the bridge and away from danger.

"You're safe, Diesel! Hooray!" cheered Thomas.

His crew cheered too, while Diesel and his Driver sighed, "thank you Thomas, thank you."


	40. Mysterious Misty Island Secrets

_**Part 2**_

_**Mysterious Misty Island Secrets**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

That night, Thomas was telling the other engines about his daring rescue, they were impressed with Thomas' bravery.

"I couldn't safe the Jobi Wood," sighed Thomas unhappily, "I feel like I have lot the Fat Controller down."

"But Thomas," said Percy, "You didn't let him down, you saved Diesel and that's a good thing to do, even he is an engine who keeps saying rude remarks to us."

Thomas smiled over to Percy, "you're right, I did what I thought I was right..."

"And you were right, Thomas," said the Fat Controller, who was walking over to see him, "you didn't need to be told what to do, and you didn't wait for Diesel to ask you to help, you did the right and responsible thing. For that, Thomas, I am proud to say that you are not only a really useful engine, but a brave and bold engine, I'm very proud of you."

"So are we!" chroused all the engines in unison.

The Fat Controller sighed deeply, "Diesel lost the logs of Jobi Wood, that is very bad, now I'll have to order some more from Japan, and that will take time. In the meantime, Thomas, I have a special reward for you, you are to visit the Search and Rescue centre...on the Mainland railway!"

"Thank you sir!" smiled Thomas happily.

"What about Diesel?" asked Duck.

"Don't worry about him, I've already taken care of him."

The Fat Controller looked over to Thomas and smiled happily, then he walked away.

The next morning, Thomas arrived at the docks with a goods train. He wasn't alone, as Percy had also been told to bring an extra train to the docks.

When they arrived, they could see Spencer being lifted onto the boat. He was needed on the mainland to do some work for the Duke and Duchess of Boxford. As he was being loaded up, Salty the Dockside Diesel rumbled up.

"Salty, could you tell us a story of the high seas?" asked Thomas, "it's going to be a while before I'm ready to go."

"Sure matey," smiled Salty, "I'd be glad to tell you the story of...Misty Island."

The two engines went silent, "many years ago," Salty began, "Misty Island was a part of Sodor's logging industary, but the services were cut off and services were handed over to the Mainland railway. But it was never pleasent there, the engines there were often sent there as a final punishment."

"What do you mean by that?" Percy asked nervously.

"Some of the engines from the Mainland were troublesome, and they wouldn't listen to orders, so those engines were banished there. To work none stop, until they run out of fuel and wood, then they are sent to...'The Engine Graveyard'."

"The Engine Graveyard?" Thomas asked.

"Arr, those engines were thrown into a deep canyon and smashed to bits. Some say, those engines will yell into the night, but no one can help them...none! The engines of Misty Island are never meant to be seen again, so...beware of Misty Island."

Thomas and Percy gulped in fear, they didn't like the sounds of it.

The dock yard manager came over to see Thomas, "there's no room for you, you'll have to wait for the next boat."

"We can't wait," said Thomas' Driver, "we need to get to the Mainland right away. I think that the raft behind the boat will do."

The dockyard manager wasn't so sure, "I'll have to check it out for myself."

Whilst he was gone, Diesel and the Fat Controller arrived, "Diesel has come to say good bye and good luck."

"Good bye Thomas," Diesel said quietly.

"And...?" The Fat Controller looked over to Diesel strenly.

"Good luck, Thomas."

"Very good, now get back to work Diesel, I sure hope you learn a lesson after this."

Diesel rumbled away, while the Fat Controller walked over to find Neville, who was being coupled to some empty fish vans. The Dockyard manager returned a second later, "the raft will do, but the chain is quite old, are you sure that you don't want to wait?"

"We can't wait," said the fireman, "we're needed at the mainland search and rescue centre. So, we'll use the raft."

Once the hooks were attached to Thomas, Cranky lifted the small blue tank engine onto the raft, "good bye Thomas," called Cranky, "And good luck."

Percy looked worried, "are you sure that you're going to be okay?"

"Not really," called Thomas, "it's my Driver and fireman's decision, what else can I do about it?"

Percy continued to look worried.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay, if I need your help, I'll blow some smoke signals to let you know."

"Okay Thomas," Percy started to look a little calmer, "good luck on your trip."

"Thank you Percy, I'll be back as soon as I can."

The ship's horn blew, then it pulled away with Thomas in tow, along with his Driver and fireman in the cab.

The journey was a long one, the waves tossed up and down, which made Thomas feel a little sleepy.

"Not long now," he thought to himself.

But Thomas was quite wrong. Sometime during the journey, there came a loud creaking noise. The Driver and fireman came out to check, what they saw made them gasp...the creaking noise was coming from the chain. It was old and rusty, it just couldn't hold the weight anymore, then...

SNAP!

"Cinders and Ashes!" gasped Thomas, waking up in horror, "the chain to the boat has snapped!"

"HELP!" shouted the two men and Thomas. It was no use, no amount of shouting could help them, cause the boat was now long gone and into the fog.

"Now what are we going to do?" asked the Driver.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something," said the fireman sarcastically, "you and your bright ideas."

"As I recall, you agreed to it."

Thomas didn't bother to listen to them, he was watching the waves. He bounced up and down, then after a while, he fell asleep, travelling along on the ocean...to the great unknown.


	41. The Logging Locos

_**Part 3**_

_**The Logging Locos**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

It was dawn before anything happened, Thomas was still stuck on his raft and was still sleeping. His peaceful sleep didn't last for long, as he felt a giant bump, which woke him and his crew up at once.

"We've landed near a dock yard," said the Driver, "and what luck, they happen to have some railway lines."

"That is good," said Thomas, then he looked down, "but I think we have a problem right now."

"What's that?" asked the fireman.

"We're sinking!"

The Driver and fireman looked, Thomas was right, they were indeed sinking. They lit Thomas' fire quickly, then they moved him off the raft and just in time, as it sank into the water.

"We can't go back now," groaned Thomas' Driver.

"What was your first glue?" asked the fireman sarcatically.

"Can we stay focused here?" Thomas asked, "we need to find out where we are, and see if we can find somebody who can help us out."

The Driver and fireman agreed, and so they puffed on. It was very misty, lots of trees surronded them and it was very quiet.

"This is a strange place," thought Thomas to himself, "we're running on railway lines, but there doesn't seem to be any other engines around. It's not Sodor, and I don't think it's the Mainland railway, so where am I?"

Thomas was due to find out soon enough...

As the mist began to lift, strange things began to happen. As Thomas puffed along through a rocky valley, he heard rattling wheels rolling by on other rails.

"Who's there?" Thomas cried out, but there was no answer from anyone.

"We better get a move on," said his Driver.

"Indeed," said Thomas, who was feeling a little uneasy, "this valley is giving me the shivers."

"I know what you mean," said the fireman, "I can't understand why, but it's making me feel sick."

"Maybe it's because of what you ate last night," said the Driver in a sarcastic way.

"Oh shut up!" snapped the fireman.

The Driver opened the regualtor and Thomas puffed on his way once more.

He soon puffed into another valley, it seemed to be a little bumpy and rocks fell every now and then.

"Don't stop," cried the Driver, "it's a rockslide!"

Thomas puffed on till he was clear of the valley.

Thomas then came upon a big valley, he blew his whistle once - then much to his surprise, the sound of his whistle came back to him.

"It must be some of kind of echo valley," Thomas smiled, then..."Hello!" he called.

"Hello!" the echo came back.

Thomas' Driver blew the whistle a couple more times, and the echoes came back. Then, they all heard three loud whistles, they were far away, too far for Thomas to see.

"Who's there?" he called.

The whistles sounded again, as if they wanted Thomas to come find them. Thomas did just that, he puffed on through Echo Valley and continued puffing along, until he came face to face with three engines.

Two were twins, both small with orange and grey paint and came with only four wheels and tall wide funnels. The third engine was a climax engine, painted in a special shade of blue, and he had a tall funnel.

"Hello there," said Thomas kindly, "I'm Thomas the Tank Engine, who are you three?"

The three engines looked at each other, then they looked over to Thomas, smiling broadly.

"We're Bash...

"Dash," said the two small engines.

"And I'm Ferdinand," said the climax engine.

"How did you come here?" asked Bash.

"I came here on a raft, although it wasn't my choice...by the way, where are we anyways?"

"You're on Misty Island," answered Dash.

Thomas gasped, he looked all around him, he couldn't believe that he was on Misty Island. It was then that he remembered Salty's words "Beware of Misty Island."

Just looking at the three logging locos, Thomas couldn't understand why Salty said that.

"Have you heard of us?" asked Ferdinand.

"I have, I've heard plenty of stories about the engines of Misty Island."

"So, where do you..." Bash began.

"Come from?" continued Dash.

"I come from the Island of Sodor. I was actually suppose to go to the Mainland railway, but I was seperated from my boat. Next thing I knew, I was here."

"We know," said Bash, "we saw you arrive earlier, we were wondering why..."

"There was another engine here," continued Dash, "we've been the..."

"Only engines on the Island for years," said Bash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

Thomas smiled as he listened into the three engines, "well you're not alone anymore..."

"Yes they are!" cried Thomas' Driver and threw his engine into reserve. Thomas couldn't understand why his Driver did that, and neither could the logging locos.

"Why did you do that?" asked the fireman.

"I want to get going, okay?"

"You're rushing is going to lead us to nothing but trouble."

"Will you shut up?" snapped the Driver.

Thomas secertly agreed with his fireman.

The three continued on down the tracks, till it was nearly impossible to see a single thing, mostly cause the mist had returned.

"It might be a good idea if we stop until this mist clears," suggested Thomas, "otherwise we might end up in big trouble."

"I agree with Thomas," said the fireman, "we're staying put!"

"Fine," huffed the Driver crossly, he really wanted to go and now! Still with Thomas' fire now dropped, there was no way to continue on, so the Driver, fireman and Thomas stayed right where they were.

Back on the Island of Sodor, the Fat Controller was just about ready to head off for home, when the telephone rang in his caravan of the centre. He answered it, it was the Mainland railway's controller.

"I see...I understand...thanks anyways, good bye."

The Fat Controller looked down upset.

"What's wrong sir?" asked Molly, who was just about ready to go back to the sheds.

"Thomas did not arrive on the Mainland railway," he sighed unhappily.

"Sir," gasped Molly, "does this mean that..."

"Thomas is lost...again!"


	42. The Wood of Misty Island

_**Part 4**_

_**The Wood of Misty Island**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

Thomas didn't sleep very well during the night, and by morning, he looked like he had worked all night long.

"I've never slept outside before," he thought to himself, "I wonder if Bash, Dash and Ferdinand sleep outside, or do they sleep in a shed of their own."

"Come on, Thomas!" shouted his Driver, "let's go find those dockyards."

But Thomas didn't move an inch, no matter how many times his Driver opened the regulator.

"Why don't you want to go?"

"Well sir," said Thomas, "the reason I'm not moving, is because we don't know how to get off Misty Island."

"Thomas is right," agreed the fireman, "we only arrived here yesterday."

"So maybe it would be a good idea to find the logging locos and ask them how to get back to Sodor."

"Fne," huffed the Driver angerily, "but once we're back on Sodor, we're boarding the next boat to the mainland railway. The Fat Controller won't be pleased about this."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," said the fireman, "but it was your stupid decision to ride that raft."

This started up another argument between the two men, but thankfully Thomas was able to stop it. Then they set off to find the logging locos.

Back on the Island of Sodor, the Fat Controller had just arrived at the search and rescue centre. Billy and Hiro were there, waiting for their trucks to be unloaded, when they saw the Fat Controller walk over.

"Sir, is something wrong?" asked Hiro.

"Yes there is, Thomas is missing," he said sadly.

"Thomas is missing again," gasped Billy, "how did he disappear?"

The Fat Controller didn't answer Billy's question, he instead went over to Harold, "I need you to look out on the ocean for Thomas, he might still be stuck out there."

"Yes sir," said Harold, "all set and ready for action!"

Harold whirred his arms and buzzed away, the wind nearly blew away the Fat Controller's hat. Billy was upset about the news, and once his trucks were empty, he hurried away to the yards and to tell the other engines about Thomas.

On Misty Island, Thomas had puffed up to a junction, he wasn't sure where to go.

"I say we go to the left," said the Driver, "that might lead us to..."

"I'm not taking your advice," grumbled the fireman, "you'll probably get us lost!"

The Driver grumbled bitterly. It was Thomas who noticed something. There was a small stream that running alongside the line that went to the right.

"Maybe we should go to the right," Thomas suggested, "maybe this stream will lead us to a logging station, and to where the logging locos are."

"I'm for Thomas' idea," said the fireman, "he makes a good point."

"Then we shall go that way," said the Driver, but he sounded like didn't like the idea.

With that decided, Thomas and his crew puffed along on the right track. Thomas was impressed with all the sights they were passing, then there came a big surprise...it was a hallow tree tunnel.

"My, my," gasped Thomas, "Misty Island sure is full of surprises."

The regulator was opened again, and Thomas puffed inside. It was just like a hallow tree trunk, but designed for trains to go through. Soon Thomas remerged from the tunnel and came upon a wonderful sight...sort of.

"There's the logging station, but it looks a little rusty and in need of some repairs."

"See," said the fireman, "Thomas was right, follow the stream and we'll find the logging station."

The Driver still said nothing, he just sulked.

Thomas looked down to the logging station and saw the logging locos, puffing along the 'unusual' logging station. The Driver threw Thomas into reserve till they came to a set of points. Once the points were changed, Thomas puffed on towards the logging station.

"Hello!" cried Thomas.

The logging locos saw him coming, they didn't look too happy. They stopped in front of Thomas with angry looks.

"We said hello to you yesterday," said Bash, "but you..."

"Didn't want to be with us," said Dash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

"I'm sorry about that," he said in a kind way, "but it was my Driver and fireman that took me away before I could talk to you even more. I want to know a little more about Misty Island, and maybe...you three could help me get back to Sodor."

"Maybe we will..." began Bash.

"Maybe we won't," said Dash.

"Now, now," said Ferdinand, "Thomas was kind enough to come here and say he was sorry, even if it was his crew that did what they did, so there's no need to be rude."

Bash and Dash were sorry at once, "we're sorry," they said together.

"That's good," smiled the climax engine, "now Thomas, we'll be glad to help you get home, but for right now, it'll have to wait...we are busy with our work."

"We're loading logs," said Bash.

Bash, Dash and Ferdinand backed away to collect their flatbeds, Thomas and his crew followed them.

Soon they arrived at a spot where tonnes of logs could be seen, the logging locos were dropping off some of the loaded flatbeds. When Thomas saw the logs, he gasped.

"Cinders and ashes!" he gasped, "those are Jobi Wood logs, aren't they?"

"They are indeed," said Bash, "we have..."

"Lots of Jobi Trees," said Dash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

"We need the Jobi wood back on Sodor to build our new search and rescue centre. Do you think I could some back with me to Sodor?"

"Sure you can," called Bash, "but you'll...

"Have to help us get it," said Dash.

"Sure, we'll be glad to pitch in and help get some more logs," smiled Thomas, "right, crew?"

The crew silently agreed. So the logging locos told Thomas how to do their work, and which lines to take.

"With us by your side," said Ferdinand, "you'll have plenty of flatbeds full of Jobi Wood to take back to Sodor."

"Thank you very much," smiled Thomas the Tank Engine, "won't the Fat Controller be pleased with our discovery."


	43. Secrets of Misty Island

_**Part 5**_

_**Secrets of Misty Island**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

It wasn't too long before the news of Thomas' disappearence went out all across the Island of Sodor, all the engines were worried for him, but none more so than Percy.

When he arrived at the search and rescue centre, the Fat Controller was just getting ready to go looking on the ocean with Captain.

Harold came flying in, "I've been all over the Island and some parts of the ocean sir," he called, "but I haven't been able to find Thomas."

Everyone looked upset when Harold said that, "look again Harold!" called the Fat Controller.

"I'm on my way!" called the helicopter and he buzzed away.

"Captain, we've got a job to do!"

"Right away sir," Captain smiled, eager to go, "full steam ahead!"

Within a few seconds, Captain was racing away from his dock and raced out to the ocean. Percy whispered quietly, "please find him, please find him..."

Back on Misty Island, Bash and Dash led Thomas to where their flatbeds were, all of them were empty.

"They're not heavy at first," said Bash, "but with the logs..."

"They can be a little difficult to move," said Dash.

It didn't take too long for Thomas, Bash and Dash's crews to couple to their engines to the flatbeds, then they brought them over to the logging station.

"Aren't you going to get your flatbeds, Ferdinand?" Thomas asked kindly.

"Actually, I'm far too heavy to go over there, which is why Bash and Dash have brought me some extra flatbeds."

Thomas' fireman looked back and noticed that Bash and Dash were indeed pulling more flatbeds behind them than Thomas.

"But we must be careful not to puff for too long," said Bash, "or we'll..."

"Run out of fuel," said Dash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

Thomas was confused, "fuel, you three are not diesels."

"What's a..." Dash began.

"Diesel?" Bash asked.

Thomas was once again surprised, "you mean you three never heard of diesels? Well, diesels are like us steam engines, except they look different and run on fuel, diesel oil."

"Well it's true that we're not...diesels," said Ferdinand, "we logging locos use oil and wood to help us run. It's always been the way of the logging engines."

"I never knew that," Thomas said quietly.

"Anyways, we better get going," said Bash, "we'll..."

"Show you where to get your logs," said Dash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand, "oh and watch out for the junction beyond the..."

"FERDINAND!" shouted Bash and Dash together.

"Show us!" snapped Thomas' Driver.

"Is it a quicker way to where your logs are loaded?" asked the fireman, "if so, then please show us."

The logging locos and their crews were silent for less than a minute, then Ferdinand's Driver spoke up, "follow us, and we'll show why we don't usually use this line."

So the logging locos started off, and Thomas followed.

They soon came to the junction, Bash's Driver changed the points, then they set along the line. Thomas found it a little spooky as rotted out trees surronded them. Ferdinand sounded his loud whistle and the four engines slowed down.

"I thought this was a short cut!" shouted Thomas' Driver, "hurry it up!"

"Look..." Bash began.

"Down," said Dash.

Thomas looked to his left and gasped, "cinders and ashes! It's the engine graveyard!"

There were plenty of logging locos laying on the ground, all of which were broken and smashed to bits. Trees grew in their funnels, rust covered their metal and their wheels cracked in so many ways.

"Salty was right," Thomas was shocked, "there is an engine graveyard."

"That's in our future as well," said Bash, "when the two of us run out of fuel..."

"Then the last engine is due to push the others..." Dash continued.

"Into the engine graveyard," concluded Bash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

"But why? It's not right, why not hide yourselves in your sheds and wait for someone to rescue you? That's what they did with an old engine named Duke."

"There is no shed," said Ferdinand, "the original controller of the Mainland Railway had it removed and had those rules put into place."

"In other words," said Bash.

"For us logging locos," said Dash, "our time is..."

"Nearly up," concluded Ferdinand.

The three logging engines looked down to the other logging locos, then they each blew a whistle salute to their fellow engines.

"Come on," said Ferdinand's Driver, "we need to get going if we want to load up more logs before the end of the day."

The engines knew Ferdinand's Driver was right, so they continued on their way. Thomas continued to look down at the ruined engines, he was upset that these rules were in place.

"It's not too late for you Thomas," said Bash, "once you..."

"Have your logs," said Dash, "leave Misty Island and..."

"Don't return for us," said Ferdinand.

"Fine with us," said Thomas' Driver, it was like he didn't care what happened to the logging locos, but Thomas did. He wanted to help the three engines escape their prison and be on free rails again.

Back on Sodor, Gordon and the Fat Controller travelled to the dump, light engine. Whiff was surprised to see them, they didn't visit him very often.

"Whiff, I need you to work with Gordon," said the Fat Controller, "Thomas is still missing. You're both fast engines, so you will search the many lines together, and if you find any clues to where Thomas is, please report it to me."

"Yes sir," smiled Whiff.

Gordon was horrified, "oh the Indignity!"

At the big station, the Fat Controller was about to walk back into his office, when Percy came up with Annie and Clarabel.

"Sir, what has happened to Thomas?"

The Fat Controller sighed unhappily, "I don't know Percy, but we're not giving up till we find him. I've assigned Gordon and Whiff to go looking for him, while Murdoch takes the express and Dennis to work in the dump."

"I hope we find him soon, I'm worried about him."

"Oh I'm sure Thomas is okay," then the Fat Controller added, "I only hope he hasn't gone down another mine."

"You don't think he did, do you?"

"I don't know Percy, now please go back to work, I'll come to you later if anything comes up about Thomas."

The Fat Controller turned on his heel and walked into his office, while Percy puffed away, feeling worse than before.

"Find Thomas, find Thomas," twittered the coaches sadly.

On Misty Island, the logging locos and Thomas had finally arrived to the place where the logs were to be loaded up. But there was a little problem...the bridge in front of them was very old and twisted and turned in the wind.

"We better get moving," said Bash.

"Or we'll be here all night," said Dash, "there's a secret..."

"Shed on the other side," said Bash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

Slowly but surely, Thomas watched as the logging locos puff over the bridge. They looked like they were about to fall off of it, but they arrived safely on the other side.

"Doesn't your controller know that a bridge like this is dangerous?" Thomas asked.

"He probably does," called Ferdinand, "he probably doesn't care."

"Then again, we haven't seen him in..." Bash began.

"Years. Now Thomas, it's your turn to..." Dash continued

"Cross the Shake-shake bridge!" Bash called.

Thomas took in a deep breath, the Driver opened the regulator, then they puffed onto the bridge. Woobly wheel turn by woobly wheel turn, shake by shake, Thomas puffed on till he reached the other side.

"The bridge did shake," he said quietly, "but it didn't break."

"Come on Thomas!" called Ferdinand, "the shed's not too far now!"

With his wheels now on safe ground, Thomas followed the logging locos to the secret shed.

Later that night, Duck was with the Fat Controller at the enterance to the Misty Island tunnel.

"You can bury the enterance sir," said Duck, "What if..."

"It's my decision Duck," he said sternly, "it's what I'm going to do, plus I'm going to have these old rails pulled up. I think this will be the perfect spot for the workmen's office."

"But sir..."

"Good night Duck," the Fat Controller turned and walked away, leaving Duck worried. He knew alot about the Misty Island tunnel, as he used to work with it before the Misty Island line was soon sold to the Mainland railway.

"I don't know why I'm worried about it," he thought to himself, "it's not like the Fat Controller is going to open the tunnel again. Besides, even if he did, it's all blocked up."

"Come on Duck," called his Driver, "let's go, we're needed at the chute tomorrow."

The driver threw Duck into reserve, then the Great Western engine puffed on his way to the Little Western.


	44. Limited Fuel

_**Part 6**_

_**Limited Fuel**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

The next morning, on Misty Island, Thomas and the logging locos arrived at the site where the logs were to be loaded. Thomas could see a crane nearby, it spluttered and shaked in a bad way.

"It must be old," he thought to himself.

Then he noticed that the logging locos were puffing away from the crane.

"Aren't you going to use this crane to load your flatbeds?" he called.

Bash looked over to Thomas, "watch, then you'll see why..."

"We don't use it," said Dash.

Bash shunted his flatbed underneath the crane, then he puffed away. Thomas expected to see the crane load some logs into the flatbed, but he was in for a shock. The crane didn't load logs, it just picked up Bash's flatbed, tossed it around, then it flew over the trees - and smashed to the ground.

"That's why!" said Bash.

"Maybe it was just the one time," said Thomas, "one more try."

Thomas was brought forward to the crane, the fireman uncoupled the flatbed, then they moved away. The logging locos were silently counting, "three, two, one", then the same thing happened again. The crane swung the flatbed into the creak below.

The splash had knocked some of the logs out of the water and fly towards Thomas, which bashed and crashed aganist his boiler.

"Ow!" he cried, "What was that?"

"That was old Wheezy," answered Bash, "That's all he does, he..."

"Throws our flatbeds," continued Dash, "it's his way of ruining..."

"Our work," said Bash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand, then he noticed, "you might want to puff away from Old Wheezy before he tosses you."

Thomas' Driver opened the regulator and moved Thomas away, just in the nick of time.

"That was too close," gasped the climax engine, "You're lucky to escape him, only one engine was ever thrown by Old Wheezy and has never been seen again."

Thomas looked back to the crane and gulped, then he followed the logging locos to where the logs would be loaded. The pathway there was strange, and a little scary, but with his Misty Island friends, Thomas had no reason to worry.

The same couldn't be said on Sodor, the engines and the Fat Controller were still worried. Harold buzzed in, looking sad, "Sir, I still can't find Thomas."

"Keep searching Harold!" called the Fat Controller, "Captain and I will join you out there!"

And so, Harold buzzed away and the Fat Controller drove off to Captain's dock.

Percy wheeshed quietly, "Thomas is gone," he was nearly ready to cry.

"Don't cry Percy," soothed his Driver, "I'm sure they'll find Thomas soon. You just need to be patient."

"I guess so," he sighed.

Thomas and the logging locos continued their work, using some of the other machines, and leaving Old Wheezy to splutter in his spot.

Then, as the three engines puffed along, they came upon an old piece of machinery.

"What's this?" Thomas asked.

"It's Hee-Haw," said Bash, "it's a..."

"Log loader machine, but you don't want to use it..." said Dash.

"It takes on too much oil," said Bash, "and as we said already..."

"We don't have much oil left," said Dash.

"We'll use it!" said another voice, it was Thomas' Driver, "I'm sure there's plenty of oil left, so we'll use the log loader."

"That's not right," said Ferdinand, "we need the last of our oil to..."

"Help us," said Thomas' Driver firmly, "get the last of the oil!"

Once again, he was being too impatient and wanted to leave the island quickly, he wasn't thinking about his actions and what could happen if the logging locos ran out of oil.

Still, the last of the oil was gathered and poured into Hee-Haw. He spluttered and creaked into life, Thomas looked at it with a worried look.

"I think my driver has gone too far this time," he thought to himself.

Far away, the Fat Controller and Captain were still looking for Thomas, both were shouting out Thomas' name loudly, but they still couldn't see Thomas.

"Don't worry sir," said Captain, "if Thomas is out here, we'll find him."

"I hope so," sighed the Fat Controller, "and I hope he's not in trouble."

Thomas wasn't in trouble, but he knew the logging locos would be soon.

"I promise to come back with more fuel for you three," he said, "that is, if we can get back to Sodor."

"You could wait for a boat," said Bash.

"Or you could try the tunnel," said Dash, both Ferdinand and Bash looked over to Dash with an angry look.

Thomas was surprised, "A tunnel? You three never mentioned anything about a tunnel."

"That's because it's closed off," said Bash.

"And too dangerous," said Dash.

"Which is why we don't use it," said Ferdinand.

Thomas' Driver and fireman looked eager, "the tunnel is our way back to Sodor, we'll use the tunnel to get back."

"That's not right," said Ferdinand's Driver, "it's too dangerous, plus our engines..."

"They'll be fine," snapped Thomas' Driver, "We'll be fine, right Thomas?"

Thomas looked upset, "That's right," he said nervously.

"It's settled, we're going to use the tunnel," said Thomas' Driver, "let's go!" Thomas' regulator was opened, then he puffed off, followed by Bash, then Dash, then Ferdinand followed close behind. All four engines were carrying a long line of flatbeds full of Jobi Wood, and all had a worrying feeling about the old tunnel.


	45. The Dangerous Tunnel

_**Part 7**_

_**The Dangerous Tunnel**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

After searching on the ocean for hours, the Fat Controller and Captain returned to the docks of the Search and Rescue centre. Gordon and Whiff were at the site.

"Did you find anything out?" The Fat Controller asked.

"No sir," said Gordon, "I've heard nothing on the main lines."

"And I've asked all the branch line engines, they don't know where Thomas is. It's clear that he's not on Sodor."

The Fat Controller sighed deeply, "we won't give up," he said, "we'll find Thomas...I hope."

On Misty Island, Thomas and the Logging locos were just pulling up outside of the tunnel. The three engines looked at the tunnel with worried looks, and as Thomas looked inside, he thought that the plan to go into the tunnel was a bad one.

"Maybe we should wait for the next boat to come," he said to his crew.

"The boat may never come," said his Driver, "besides, there is nothing wrong with that tunnel."

"There's lots of problems with the tunnel," said Ferdinand, "it might fall in on us, it's unstable."

"There's another problem," said Bash, "we don't have enough fuel..."

"To puff all the way to Sodor," said Dash, "we'll run out once we're in the tunnel."

"You've got enough," said Thomas' fireman, "we'll make it back to Sodor safely with no trouble at all."

"We can't! We won't!" said Bash and Dash together.

Still, Thomas' crew refused to listen, which made Thomas cross, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"When I get back to Sodor, I'm going to have a little serious with them about their attitude," he thought to himself.

Wheel turn by wheel turn, Thomas, the logging locos and the flatbeds of Jobi Wood, disappeared into the darkness of the Misty Island tunnel.

It was a long journey, the rails creaked under the weight of the engines and their trains, and several rocks fell all around them. Thomas was scared, now he knew why Henry doesn't like tunnels.

All went well, until they came upon a terrible sight! The tunnel was blocked with rocks and rubbish.

"Where did those come from?" asked the Driver, who was surprised.

"Maybe from Sodor," said the fireman sarcastically.

"Shut up!" snapped the Driver.

While they were fighting with each other, they didn't notice the rumbling sounds coming from behind Ferdinand's train, until it was loud enough to deafen anyone. The sound was falling rocks, which fell behind Ferdinand's brake van and blocked their way back.

The logging locos were terrified, "what do we do..." Bash began.

"Now?" Dash asked.

"We'll push threw the barrier," said Thomas' Driver, sounding too confident.

"We don't have enough oil!" shouted Bash's Driver, "you've used the last of..."

"You've got enough," shouted the fireman, "now let's go!"

Thomas' Driver opened the regulator and Thomas went bashing his buffers into the barrier. Bash, Dash and Ferdinand then joined in and began to push. They pushed and pushed and pushed - until something happened.

First, Ferdinand ran out of fuel and had to give up, then it was Dash that ran out.

"I'll keep going for all of..." Bash was cut off as he suddenly found out that he didn't have anymore fuel, and came to a complete stop.

Now Thomas was the only engine with steam in his boiler, but it wouldn't last, his bunker was low on coal and he would soon run out. Now they were all stuck in the tunnel, and it was all Thomas' Driver and fireman's fault.

"Now look what you've done!" shouted Thomas angerily, "thanks to your rushing around, we're now stuck in the tunnel!"

"We're fine," said the Driver, "we just need to..."

"ENOUGH!" Thomas was really cross, "you're stupid decisions have taken all the fuel that Bash, Dash and Ferdinand need, cause you put it all into Hee-Haw! We could've waited for a boat, but you insisted on the tunnel, and thanks to you two, nobody knows we're here, finally...thanks to you, the logging locos are now lost engines and so am I. You two did good when we rescued Diesel, but you were lousy during our stay on Misty Island...I should never have listened to you!"

Thomas' Driver and fireman were surprised, they had never heard Thomas snap like that.

"We're sorry," they said quietly.

"That's nice to say, but it's not going to get us out of here," Thomas looked at the barrier, then to the logging locos, "this is a disaster."

At the docks, Percy was looking out to sea, then he looked up to Cranky, "can you look for Thomas, please?"

Normally, Cranky the crane would never help the engines, but he could see how sad Percy was, and decided to help. He looked out towards the ocean, "sorry Percy," he called, "there's still no sign of Thomas."

Percy looked down sadly, Salty the dockside diesel rolled over with a train of fish vans.

"Arr, you won't see anything till the mist blows away," he said.

Percy looked back out to the ocean, he felt sadder than ever before, "Oh, where are you, Thomas? THOMAS!"


	46. Coming to Thomas' Rescue

_**Part 8**_

_**Coming to Thomas' Rescue**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

In the dark Misty Island tunnel, Thomas, the four crews and the logging locos were still trapped. All of them were looking worried, and wondered if they would ever see daylight again.

"I'm sorry for all that has happened," Thomas called to the logging locos, "if only I had spoken up, then I would never have let my crew cause all this trouble for you three. I wanted to save you three from joining the other engines in that graveyard, but I guess we've only let you down."

Thomas shedded a small tear from his right eye, the logging locos couldn't see him, but they could tell that he was upset.

"It's okay Thomas," said Bash, "we're not..."

"Blaming you," said Dash, "so there's need to..."

"Blame yourself," continued Bash, "You did the best..."

"You could do," continued Dash, "and we want to thank you."

"That's right," smiled Ferdinand, "you are a good friend."

Right away, Thomas began to feel better, "thank you my friends, at least I'm in the company of such great engines like you."

The logging locos felt honored by Thomas' comment - their joyful moment wasn't going to last, as the rumbling noises came back. Rocks began to fall all around them, bashing them on their boilers.

Ferdinand was the first to notice, "I can feel...air on my funnel!"

Bash and Dash looked up and noticed there was a hole in the roof. Thomas and his crew were worried that the tunnel might cave in on them, but not the logging locos and their crews.

"Thomas," called Bash, "puff forward..."

"Under the hole," said Dash, "and blow your steam, someone's bound..."

"To see your smoke signals and..." said Bash.

"Come to our rescue," said Dash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand, "the older logging locos all told us about the smoke signals and how they were saved many lives before, it could work again!"

"We can't!" snapped Thomas' fireman, "it's a dumb..."

"You listen to me now!" Thomas snapped back, "if you want to go back to Sodor, then we're going to follow the logging loco's advice. We will use the smoke signals."

"You don't have enough coal and water left."

"I don't care, use the last of it if you have to, but at least give their plan a chance."

And so, that's just what they did. Thomas' Driver and fireman worked together to allow Thomas to blow off smoke, once...twice...then three times.

"I sure hope someone sees that," said Thomas' Driver, "there's no one else on Misty Island."

"Maybe so," called Ferdinand's Driver, "but maybe somebody will see it on Sodor."

At the docks, Percy was looking out to sea once more - that's when he noticed...

"Cranky! Salty, look!"

"Arr, the mist is rollin' away," said Salty.

Cranky looked too, "So it is," he sounded surprised, that's when he noticed, "I see three puffs of smoke!"

"It's Thomas!" cried Percy, "I'm sure it's him, he must be on Misty Island."

Even Salty was surprised, "no Sodor engine I've known has ever seen Misty Island before, let alone gone there," Salty watched the puffs of smoke shoot up to the sky, "he's in trouble matey, those puffs of smoke stand for 'S...O...S'."

"I'll phone the Fat Controller and inform him about this," said Percy's Driver. He climbed down from Percy's cab, then he walked off to the dockyard manager's office.

In the tunnel, Thomas puffed out his 'S.O.S' again, then they waited, and hoped.

"It just takes time," said Ferdinand, "just be patient."

Thomas' crew were worried, "what if no one finds us? We could be..."

"Just keep those smoke signals going!" cried Thomas, "I'm sure someone's bound to see it!"

Back at the docks, Oliver, Rosie and Stanley were there with important cargo from their parts of the line, Percy was waiting there too. The Fat Controller's car soon pulled up.

"Where are the smoke signals Percy?" he asked.

"You'll have to wait sir," Percy answered, "they come out every couple of minutes, they're coming from Misty Island."

"Is Thomas really out there?" Rosie asked.

"If he is," said Oliver, "then he was a lot closer than we thought."

Everyone looked out to the ocean, they waited - then there came the wonderful sight they were hoping to see - three puffs of smoke appeared just above the trees.

"There's Thomas!" cheered Percy.

The Fat Controller smiled, then he turned to the three other tank engines, "Rosie, Oliver and Stanley, I want you to get loaded up on the next boat, I will go with you, we're going to Misty Island!"

"Sir," Percy called in, "what about the tunnel? It might quicker."

The Fat Controller poundered about it, "it just might be," he said, "fetch Duck and Whiff, they know everything about the tunnel."

"Yes sir," peeped Percy.

His Driver opened the regulator, then Percy puffed away, still looking out to the ocean.

"Don't worry Thomas," he said, "we'll save you, we're coming!"

In the tunnel, Thomas was trying his best to calm the logging locos, "there are some engines on our railway that are troublesome, you'll want to watch out for them, but the rest of them are friendly. Diesels and steam, they are all great friends."

"They do sound..." Bash began.

"Friendly," smiled Dash.

"They are," Thomas smiled back, "and I'm sure they'll come to our rescue soon enough."

"I'm sure they will too," smiled Ferdinand, "I have a good feeling about that."

At the site of the search and rescue centre, the workmen had finally bashed down the barrier, just as Duck, Whiff and Percy arrived. The Fat Controller looked inside, he was worried.

"It's too dangerous to use," he said, "we'll have to use the boat."

"Don't worry sir," said Duck, "I know all there is to know about the tunnel, we'll be fine."

"And," Whiff added in, "I know what to do to prevent a disaster in there, with the two of us, we'll be find Thomas and bring him home before you know it."

"Sir," Percy called, "can I go in with them? Three boilers working together might be better than two."

"Very well Percy," said the Fat Controller, "but make sure that you listen to Duck and Whiff and don't get lost in there."

When all was ready, the three engines went into the tunnel. Duck was first, followed by Whiff and then Percy went in. The Fat Controller hurried back to the docks for a boat to take the three other engines to Misty Island.

In the tunnel, Duck, Whiff and Percy puffed bravely along, they weren't scared at that point, all that mattered was bringing their friend home.

The logging locos were talking to Thomas about how they came to Misty Island.

"Like many other engines," said Bash, "we were sent to work for the logging station, but..."

"After the new management took over," said Dash, "we were forced to work harder until we broke down..."

"Or ran out of fuel," Bash continued, "the three of us seemed to outlast the other engines..."

"And became the logging locos we were today," said Dash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand and Thomas together. The four engines laughed, till they heard the sounds of engine wheels rolling along on rusty old tracks. They went quiet, then they heard a loud Great Western whistle, followed by high pitched crocky whistle and finally, there was a whistle sound that Thomas knew all too well.

"Thomas? Are you there? It's me, Percy!"

"PERCY!" Thomas cried happily, "my best friend, it's good to hear your voice again."

"I'm not alone!" Percy called back, "Whiff and Duck are with me, we're just on the other side of you!"

"We'll bash threw the barrier to you," said Thomas' Driver, "stand back!"

"Don't!" cried Duck, "we know this tunnel better than you, if you bash threw the barrier, you'll cause it to cave in on us!

"We'll place supports up first, then we'll bash threw to you," called Whiff.

"Duck, Whiff, you make good decisions," Thomas said happily, "We won't move an inch."

The three crews then went to work to make the tunnel a little safer, then it was time to put the next part of the plan into motion.

Whiff backed up to Percy, where Whiff's fireman coupled the two up, then Duck reserved and was coupled to Whiff. Then they backed down the tunnel - then they charged to the barrier. At the last moment, the engines slammed their brakes on and they went crashing into the barrier.

With the three working together, they bashed threw to Thomas and the logging locos.

"Percy! Duck! Whiff!" cried Thomas, "I'm so happy to see you three!"

Thomas was so happy that he almost cried, Percy nearly did the same when he saw his best friend, "Thomas, you're safe!"

"And so are my new friends, these are Bash, Dash and Ferdinand, the logging locos of Misty Island. They've all run out of fuel, so they can't puff on. We have to get them to Sodor, or they'll end up in the engine graveyard."

"It's for real?" Percy asked.

"It is," said Ferdinand.

"Then," said Duck, "we'll have to pull you three out, Thomas, how much coal and water do you have left?"

"Not much," he answered, "so I won't be of much help."

"Don't you worry," said Whiff, "just leave this to us, we'll soon have back on Sodor in no time."

Since they couldn't get turned around, the three tank engines got coupled up to Thomas and the logging locos, then they puffed backwards, bunker first through the dark tunnel.


	47. Know Your Way

_**Part 9**_

_**Know Your Way**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

It was hard going, with Bash, Dash, Ferdinand all out of fuel and Thomas on a short supply of coal and water, Duck, Percy and Whiff had their work cut out for them.

"I'll help you out soon," Thomas said.

"Don't worry about it Thomas," said Duck, "you leave it to us, Whiff, Percy and I can handle this alone."

"That's right," Percy happily agreed.

"That's what I usually say," called Ferdinand as a joke. The engines chuckled a little while they puffed along.

"We're almost there," cried Whiff, "just a bit further up the tracks, it's Sodor!"

Thomas was thrilled to hear that, that despite what Duck said, he puffed into life and began to help his friends. The four tank engines puffed on and on, till they finally came out into the daylight outside of the tunnel. The unusual train came to a complete stop beside the search and rescue centre, where Duck, Whiff and Percy stopped to catch their breaths.

"Welcome to Sodor," Thomas called to the logging locos, "you're safe now."

Bash, Dash, Ferdinand and their crews gasped at the amazing sites that was all around them, they thought it was all very interesting.

"Who are your friends?" called a voice.

The engines looked to find it was Murdoch. He, Arthur and Hank nearby with trucks full of supplies.

"We ain't seen engines like you here on Sodor before," said Hank, "though I've seen engines like you before, where did you lot come from?"

"We're from Misty Island," said Bash, "I'm Bash..."

"I'm Dash..."

"And I'm Ferdinand. We are the last of the logging locos of Misty Island."

"Really?" Arthur asked.

"It's true," said Thomas sadly, "I've seen the engine graveyard, there were engines as far as you could see. These three are indeed the last of the logging locos."

Bash and Dash wheesed quietly.

"As for you two," Thomas snapped to his crew, "I hope you learn to never let stupid decisions get the better of you."

"We promise," they said together.

Just then, Harold the Helicopter came flying into view.

"There's trouble," he called, "the boat has come back from Misty Island, but without the engines, and the fog is down everywhere!"

Percy gasped, "that's right, Rosie, Stanley and Oliver went to Misty Island to look for you, Thomas."

"They'll get lost for sure..." Bash began.

"Since they don't know the way around Misty Island," added Dash.

"Unless," Ferdinand added in, "someone who knows about the lines can go back there and help them."

It was then that Thomas spoke up, "I'll go back to Misty Island, I know the lines now, thanks to the logging locos. Since the tunnel is blocked, we'll need to take the boat back there."

"We're going to need more coal and water before we go," said Thomas' fireman.

"No problem," Percy smiled, "I'll take you to the water tower, then Duck, Whiff and I will take the logging locos to the steamworks, and get them some more fuel."

"Fuel?" Murdoch asked, "you're not diesels..."

"Maybe so," said Bash, "but we use wood..."

"And Oil for fuel," said Dash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

"Thanks Percy," smiled Thomas, "you're always coming through whenever I'm in trouble."

"Just like you."

So once Percy had taken Thomas to a coal bunker, then to a water tower, Thomas hurried off to the docks. He pounded the rails, light engine, until he finally pulled in.

"Cranky!" he called, "I need you to load me on another boat!"

"What?" Cranky was surprised, "you want to get lost again? You just got back!"

"I know that, but I need to get back to Misty Island right away, my friends and the Fat Controller could be in trouble."

"Very well," sighed the big crane.

When the captain of the boat was informed of the situation, Thomas was lifted onto the boat, then they set off for Misty Island once more.

Once on Misty Island, Thomas and his crew began their search.

"It'll be easier since we know the way," said Thomas' fireman.

"But we'll need to take care at certain places," said Thomas' Driver, "but I'm sure we'll find them."

"That's the spirit," Thomas smiled as he raced along the line.

Duck, Whiff and Percy took the logging locos to the steamworks, where they had new paint added on, and had various repairs done to them. Victor the narrow gauge engine of the works was watching the work done happily.

"Perfect," he smiled, "how do you three feel?"

"We feel great," they all said together.

"I'm very happy to hear that."

Just then, there came a loud bang in between Bash and Dash, it was Kevin. He had dropped a heavy piece of metal on the ground, by accident again.

"Sorry boss, it was just a slip of the hook," he said.

The logging locos couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Hello there, my name is Kevin, whenever you need help, just give me a call, I'll be there for you."

Kevin's operator spun him around several times, until Kevin fell flat on his side. Victor sighed, the logging locos laughed, and Kevin and his operator chuckled quietly.

Back on Misty Island, Thomas and his crew had just pulled up to the logging station, it was too quiet with no engines in sight, especially those that they were looking for.

"I'm not giving up," Thomas said out loud.

"Neither are we," said the Driver, then he had an idea, "maybe if we blow the whistle again, then the engines just might hear it and respond back."

"Sounds like a good plan," said the fireman, even Thomas had to agree. So the Driver pulled on the whistle cord and blew Thomas' whistle three times.

Then they went silent - for a while, there was silence - then, they heard Oliver's great western whistle, Rosie's american whistle, then came Stanley's whistle.

"That's them alright," said Thomas happily, "and by the sounds of their whistles, they're in Echo Valley, not too far from here."

"Then let's go!" said the Driver and fireman together.

In Echo Valley, the engines were whistling in fear, all the while, they were shouting out Thomas' name.

"This fog is too thick," groaned Rosie.

"It's too dangerous to puff on," added Stanley.

"We can't give up," puffed Oliver, "not when we're so close to finding Thomas."

"Agreed," said the Fat Controller.

So the three engines continued on, till they heard a loud whistle blowing and coming towards them.

"Listen," Oliver cried, "do you hear that?"

They all listened carefully, they gasped happily, they knew who it was. The Drivers brought the engines to a hault, the Fat Controller leaned out of Stanley's cab.

It was then that Thomas appeared through the thick fog and stopped in front of the three engines, who whistled and cheered happily. The Fat Controller jumped for joy in Stanley's cab.

"THOMAS!" he cried, it was then that he threw his hat into the sky, then it disappeared into the fog.

"Sir," Thomas gasped, "your hat..."

The Fat Controller smiled happily, "You don't need to worry about it, I can always find a new top hat, but I can never find...another Thomas."

Thomas smiled happily when he heard that.

"Thank goodness you're safe," Rosie sighed, "we've all been worried sick about you."

"Well, you don't need to worry anymore. We can all go back to Sodor now, and sir, there's a little something there waiting to meet you."

"Then let's go," he said.

The Fat Controller climbed into Thomas' cab, then they all set off back to the boat, with Thomas leading them threw the mist of Misty Island.


	48. Old and New Friends Work Together

_**Part 10**_

_**Old and New Friends Work Together**_

_**Based on "Misty Island Rescue: The Movie"**_

When they were all back on the Island of Sodor, the Fat Controller was taken to the search and rescue centre, where the logging locos were waiting for him.

"We're very pleased," Bash began.

"To meet you," Dash continued.

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

"Greetings," said the Fat Controller kindly, "welcome to our railway, and thank you for helping Thomas to come back to Sodor."

"We were glad to help," said Bash and Dash together.

"Always glad to lend a buffer," said Ferdinand.

Just then, Edward pulled up, he was surprised when he saw the climax engine, "Ferdinand, my dear old friend, I haven't seen you for a long time, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too," Ferdinand smiled.

"You know..." Bash began.

"Ferdinand?" Dash asked.

"Yes indeed," Edward smiled, "I made a trip to Misty Island a long time ago, and I got lost in the mist. That's when I met Ferdinand, he showed me where to go."

"That's right," said Ferdinand.

The engines looked on surprised, except for Thomas, he just smiled.

"Now," continued the Fat Controller, "our work on the centre can continue, especially as we now know where to get more Jobi Wood. So I expect all of you to work hard."

"Yes sir," they all said.

The days went past, and the work progress of the centre continued on with no trouble. Hiro and Molly often doubeheaded trains of Jobi Wood, while Captain tugged the logs from Misty Island.

But when Captain was busy, the logging locos would come through the tunnel with more logs.

"We like being really useful," said Bash and Dash together.

"We all do," smiled Ferdinand.

"That's right," Thomas smiled while chuckling.

In a few weeks, all the work was done. The new search and rescue centre was finally built. The Jobi Wood shone like gold in the sunshine, banners hung everywhere and a red ribbon was placed on the railings above the centre.

The Fat Controller, Lady Hatt, the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, and the Mayor were all there for the special event.

"I am proud of all the work done by our workers and our engines," the Fat Controller said to everyone, "well done all of you."

The Mayor then walked over to the banner, "I am proud to say, that the new search and rescue centre is now open for business!"

"And there's more good news," said the Fat Controller, "I have bought the Misty Island logging line back from the Mainland, and we've also repaired the tunnel for further uses. None of this would possible, had it not been for one engine and his crew, plus his logging friends from Misty Island. Thank you to everyone who helped out, you have done a wonderful job."

"Even though we did cause a bit of trouble," said Thomas' Driver.

Ferdinand and Thomas smiled, "that's right!" they smiled, then they chuckled. Everyone else then joined in on the laughter, then they started the celebration, all of which were proud to finally have a search and rescue centre, but none were more proud, than Thomas, and his friends from Misty Island, the three small, but helpful logging locos.


	49. Blessing in Disguise

_**Blessing In Disguise**_

_**Based on "Time for a Story"**_

It had been a very busy day on the Island of Sodor, Thomas was resting in his berth after taking Annie and Clarabel on the last branch line train of the day. All seemed quiet in the sheds, until Daisy arrived with Rosie in tow.

"Oh my," Thomas gasped, "what happened to her?"

"She had an accident," Daisy called, "Toby and Percy are out clearing up her mess at this time."

Rosie looked glum as she looked at her dented bufferbeams, "I was doing fine," she groaned, "then I went over some bumpy tracks, the trucks pushed me and..."

"That's how you crashed, am I right?" Thomas asked.

Rosie looked ashamed, "yes, I didn't mean to cause that accident."

"Nobody means to cause accidents, well...some engines anyways," he was thinking about 'Arry, Bert and Diesel, "accidents just happen. Let me ask you though, were you running late?"

"Yes, so I took a short cut."

Thomas chuckled quietly to himself, "sounds almost like the accident I had a few years ago, although, it turned out to be a good thing, not a bad thing."

"What do you mean?" Rosie asked just as Daisy was rumbling away.

"I'll be glad to tell you."

And so, here's the story Thomas told.

It all happened years ago when Thomas was the station pilot at Knapford. His main job was to shunt coaches and trucks into place. Whenever he wasn't shunting, Thomas was given the chance to practise pulling goods trains.

After the disasterous run of his first goods train, Thomas was determined to prove how useful he is. Maybe, a little too determined.

One morning, Thomas was busy shunting some coaches to the platform for Henry to collect, when the Fat Controller came over to talk to him.

"Thomas, I have an important job for you to do, I need you to some trucks full of children's books to the new library near the new town hall."

"Yes sir," smiled Thomas, "I won't let you down."

"Just remember to take care out there," advised the Fat Controller, "and remember what I told you about trucks."

Thomas didn't hear him, he was too excited for his own good. He puffed away to Maithwaite as fast as he could go.

When he arrived, Thomas was amazed to see so many trucks waiting by the platform. The station staff were loading up the vans with the boxes of books at this time.

"There sure are alot of books," Thomas thought to himself, "I hope they won't be too heavy."

Thomas was soon coupled up to his trucks and was eager to go. The guard was just about to couple the brake van to the tail of the train, when Thomas suddenly pulled away.

"Hey!" shouted the guard, "you left me behind!"

But Thomas and his crew were too far off to hear him properly.

It was all smooth running, Thomas enjoyed feeling the wind blow across his funnel, and he loved whistling to the people at level crossings.

"What a lovely day, what a lovely day," Thomas puffed happily to himself.

The fun wasn't going to last for too long, as they came to a junction. The signal for the main line had turned red, Thomas was cross, "oh bother, now we're going to be late," it was then that he noticed the points leading to the branch line, "couldn't we take that line?"

The Driver pondered for a moment, "I guess it would be okay," he said after a while, "from what I do know, it is a faster route to take than the main line."

The fireman got down from the cab and changed the points, then he climbed back into Thomas' cab. With the points now set, Thomas set out on his way down the branch line.

"This is better, this is better," he puffed to himself.

"This was a good decision," said the Driver.

Soon however, they came across a sign that read "Tracks under repair, proceed with caution!" Thomas' Driver went for the brake handle, but that's when the trucks began to play up.

"Let's show this silly engine how we trucks do things! ON! ON! ON!" they cried.

Thomas and his crew were taken by surprise, they tried to stop, but they couldn't with all the trucks pushing behind them.

"STOP! STOP!" shouted Thomas in alarm.

"Go on! Go on!" cried the trucks.

The workmen that were working on the line had to get out of the way as Thomas came dashing threw, "slow down!" they cried, "there's a bad piece of track up ahead!"

"Brakes, guard, please!" shouted the Driver, but there was no reply.

Thomas bounced so much over the tracks, then they rolled over the bad part of track, Thomas somehow managed to stay on the tracks, while his troublesome trucks went crashing into a farmer's field. They went crashing everywhere and broke into pieces. Books went flying out of the doors and threw the broken roof, and landed on the grassy field.

"Oh no," groaned Thomas, "what a mess we've caused now. The Fat Controller won't be pleased with this."

Thomas and his crew looked over to the mess, they were upset, that's when they noticed...

"It's no wonder why the guard didn't reply back, we have no guard, we left the brake van behind," said the Driver.

"Oh, what a silly engine I've been," Thomas sighed, "what are we going to do now?"

Thomas sadly looked over to the field, he looked at all the books on the ground, and the sun shining on them.

"I'm sure people would enjoy reading books in the beautiful sunshine than being inside..." Thomas' face lit up, "that's it, I have a brilliant idea!"

He told his plan to his crew, "I think that's a good idea," said his Driver, "but we'll have to tell the Fat Controller about this, and ask if we can bring people here."

When they got to the next station, Thomas' Driver phoned the Fat Controller, who was cross about the accident, but he did agree with Thomas' idea. So once it was arranged, Thomas went to collect a few coaches. He collected some passengers from Maithwaite and other locations along the line, till they finally arrived at the field where the trucks were sitting.

The children and adults enjoyed reading the books, they would often sit in the shade, or in the beautiful sunshine. They had a wonderful time, and thanked Thomas and his crew for bringing them there.

Then once they were back at the stations they were at before, and Edward had helped bring the trucks to the rails, Thomas took all the books to the library. The people there thanked Thomas for bringing them and for what he did earlier.

"Thanks to you," they said, "more people will want to come here and read these books and many others too. Your accident today certainly was a blessing in disguise."

"And they were right," Thomas said as he finished, "as more people came to the library to check those books out, and it was all because of my accident. I did get a good talking to by the Fat Controller, but he was also proud of me."

Rosie smiled, "I guess I understand what you mean, sometimes taking a short cut is a dangerous thing to do."

"Yes, and that sometimes, accidents can be a blessing, if you got the right cargo. What were you taking?"

"Seeds for Sunflowers," she answered.

"In that case," Thomas chuckled, "just wait, I'm sure your accident will be a blessing is disguise too."

In a matter of weeks, Rosie soon found out that Thomas was indeed right. For at the spot where her accident had occured, there were a few dozen sunflowers.

"They're wonderful," she smiled.

"Thomas was right," smiled her Driver, "sometimes accidents can be a blessing is disguise."

"Maybe so, but I think I'll try to avoid taking shortcuts, just to be on the safe side."


	50. Splashing into Trouble

_**Splashing Into Trouble**_

_**Based on "Splish, Splash, Splosh" and "Down the Drain"**_

It was the rainy season on Sodor, heavy drips of rain fell hard onto the engines of the Fat Controller's railway, but despite it all, they kept on going down the line.

On an occasion, a river bank would overflood their banks and would cause something called 'Flash floods'. Normally, people will try to avoid it, but when it's on the railway, that's when engines have to take extra care.

On one cold wet morning, Billy and Rosie were kept busy shunting trucks in the yards. They biffed and bashed the trucks until they were all in place. Then once they had the trucks in place, the two tank engines puffed on their way with their trains for two different locations. Rosie was to take her train to Thomas' branch line, while Billy was to take the trucks to Edward's Branch Line.

As Billy puffed along, he came across a huge puddle of water, which was covering the trucks.

"Oh no," groaned the Driver, "a river must've flooded it's banks."

Billy wasn't looking worried, "not to worry, water can't stop a really useful engine like myself."

"Be careful," cautioned his fireman, "you're asking for trouble."

"Besides," added the Driver, "water can stop an engine, remember what Percy told you before?"

Billy remembered, but he was sure that there was no trouble at all. So he puffed on, splashing threw the water and making it fly high as his speed increased.

He soon came to the junction for Edward's branch line, he could see his brother, Charlie, resting near a siding after finishing his shutning duites.

"Hello Charlie," Billy called.

Before Charlie could say anymore, Billy's wheels spun faster, and water went flying all over Charlie.

"Thanks for the bath," he called while chuckling.

BoCo didn't like that however, he was passing by that area with a train of his own, and now he had been splashed with the dirty river water.

"Bother the flashfloods," grumbled BoCo.

After arranging his trucks into place, Billy puffed away, light engine, back to the main line. As he was puffing along, he came across another flashflood, and instead of slowing down, Billy sped on threw.

"What's a little fun," he chuckled.

His Driver tried to slow Billy down, but it did no good, Billy wouldn't respond to his control. Water went flying everywhere, including all over Emily and James, who were taking flour trucks and other trucks full of strawberries to the diary.

"Silly Billy," cried Emily, "you could've ruined the flour and the strawberries."

James wasn't thinking about his cargo, "you spoiled my nice red paint, now it's all brown and muddy."

"Come on James," said his Driver, "quit your complaining, once we deliver this load, we'll take you to the washdown."

James sighed unhappily as he and Emily continued on their way.

Billy hadn't noticed that he had made James cross, or that he nearly ruined the special cargo, he was just having too much fun.

"Engines can have fun and still work their hardest!" he cheered.

"Take it easy Billy," cried his Driver, "you need to puff slowly through flood waters."

His Driver and fireman told him the same thing over and over again, but he was becoming over confident.

"Water can't stop me, water can't stop me," he puffed to himself.

Billy continued to think that way all day long, his crew, the station staff and even some other engines all warned him, but he took no notice. Maybe it would've been better if he did.

As he was taking his last train of the day, he came upon a very big puddle of water. It certainly was bigger than the others that he splashed threw before, Billy was amazed by it's size.

"I bet it would make a big splash," he thought to himself, "oh boy, will this be fun!"

And so, Billy began to pick up speed and race towards the muddy puddle. His Driver tried to stop him, and the wind seemed to shout 'Go Back! Go Back!' but Billy payed no attention.

Billy went splashing into the water, blowing it far from the tracks and towards the road. The Fat Controller was showing Alica Botti around, when they were suddenly blinded by heavy muddy waters. The Fat Controller slammed on his brakes, and his car came to a stop.

"Good thing we had the windows closed," the Fat Controller said to Ms. Botti.

"I wouldn't want to face my public all dirty," she agreed.

Billy in the meanwhile, had gone too far into the water. As he puffed along, the muddy water reached his footplate and went splashing into his cab.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

"OH!" Billy cried, "the water is putting my fire out, take me back before..."

It was already too late, the water went splashing into Billy's fire, putting it out quickly. Now Billy was stuck, he didn't know if the situation could get any worse.

"BILLY!"

He was due to find out, the Fat Controller was standing near the edge of the muddy pond.

"You have been a naughty engine, I thought you knew better than to go playing 'leap frog' in puddles. Also Billy, I've been hearing from some of the other engines that you have been splashing them today, I want it to stop."

"I'm sorry sir," Billy groaned, "I just thought I could play and work at the same time."

The Fat Controller sighed, "Billy, there's a time and place for that, but it's not meant for the main lines or branch lines, and certainly not in stations."

"Yes sir," Billy sighed unhappily.

After the Fat Controller had his stern talking to with Billy, Billy's Driver walked his way slowly through the muddy water, then he went to phone for help.

Soon, Rosie came along with a long chain in her cab and a coal truck behind her.

Billy's Driver went into the water and coupled one end of the chain onto Billy's coupling hook, while Rosie was being coupled up. Then, once all was ready, Rosie tugged and pulled, until she pulled Billy out of the water.

"Thank you Rosie," he said kindly, "am I ever happy that you came along to help."

"Ah well," she smiled, "what are friends for? We sometimes get out of control from time to time. Anyways, we brought you some extra coal, cause I'm sure your supply of coal is wet."

Rosie was indeed correct about that. Billy's fireman dumped the wet coal out, placing the pile of coal near the firebox, then he and the Driver worked together to put more coal into the bunker.

Then once that was done, Billy's fireman shovelled in the new coal into Billy's firebox.

Billy continued on with delivering his train, but he was very late.

Now whenever the rain came down, or when flash floods appeared, Billy puffed slowly through the floods. He was now a wiser engine and now knew that water can stop engines, and has never attempted to 'splash' his friends or race in the flood waters since.


	51. The Fake Controller

_**The Fake Controller**_

_**Based on "Hiro Helps Out"**_

Every engine on Sodor should know that 'Arry and Bert, the scrap iron diesels, can be a little troublesome when they want to be, especially when it came to the steam engines, so they should take no notice of the trouble they cause. Although there was one day when the engines couldn't.

It was a bright sunny day, it was also Hiro's last day on Sodor before he was ready to go home. He pulled into the big station to find the Fat Controller. The Fat Controller soon came out, but he looked a little different today.

"Sir, is everything okay?"

"The day finds me with much too much to do," he said, then he noticed that Hiro was looking at him in a different way.

"Sorry sir," Hiro said quietly, "but I was wondering, where's your hat?"

The Fat Controller reached for his top hat, but found that it wasn't there, "excuse me," he said and walked away.

Once the Fat Controller was out of sight, Edward puffed in with passengers from his branch line, "hello Hiro, you look worried, what's the matter?"

Before Hiro could answer, the Fat Controller came out to the platform with his hat on top of his head.

"Nothing at all Edward," he smiled.

"I need to be off," said the Fat Controller, "I need to speak with the Thin Controller, I'll see you engines later."

"Sir," called Edward.

But the Fat Controller was already out of sight, Edward was worried, "I needed to speak to him about what my next job is."

"Take the passengers to Farmer Trotter's farm," called the Fat Controller's voice, "that's an order!"

Edward was puzzled, the Fat Controller was nowhere, but he had given out orders. So Edward and his crew agreed to follow those orders, and puffed away once the passengers were on board.

"That's strange," said Hiro to his Driver, "The Fat Controller has left the station, and yet, he gave Edward his orders."

"Hmm," poundered the Driver, "you might be onto something Hiro, but we can't worry about that right now, we need to collect a few goods trains from the yards and take them to the docks."

Hiro agreed, but before he puffed away to the yards, he saw 'Arry and Bert race past with trains of scrap iron.

Out on the main line, Hiro met up with Thomas at the junction for his branch line.

"It's been a slow day today," he was saying to Hiro, "I've finished the passenger runs for today, now I don't know what I need to do next."

"Visit the coaling plant," called the Fat Controller's voice again, "that's an order!"

"Sir?" Thomas called, "are you sure about that?"

"Yes, now go!"

Thomas was puzzled, but he knew better than go aganist orders, so that's what Thomas and his crew.

Hiro was also puzzled, "twice," he thought, "that's twice we've heard the Fat Controller's voice, and yet he's nowhere to be seen."

It was then that 'Arry and Bert rumbled by with smirks on their faces, "I wonder," Hiro thought to himself.

A little later, Hiro met up with Percy at a water tower, he was carrying some crates full of ducks.

"Hello Percy," Hiro smiled, "where you going with those ducks?"

"I'm suppose to be bringing them to Farmer McColl's farm."

"Take them to the Midland route," called the Fat Controller's voice for the third time, "that's an order!"

Percy's crew were uncertain of this, but they didn't complain, they went off to visit the Midland route. Once they were out of sight, 'Arry and Bert rattled by with trainloads of scrap iron.

"That is odd," Hiro said to his Driver, "everytime we hear the Fat Controller's voice, 'Arry and Bert appear out of nowhere."

"I know what you mean," said the Driver.

With the line now clear, Hiro puffed on his way with his train.

On his way back to the yards of Knapford for his next train, Hiro stopped by a signal, light engine. The Fat Controller's car was nearby, he didn't look too happy.

"Hiro, I was wondering, have you seen Edward, Thomas and Percy? I've been hearing that they are at the wrong locations!"

"Well sir," he said, "I have seen them, they puffed off to three different locations, after they had gotten their orders."

"What orders?"

"They've heard you giving them orders, but you were nowhere to be seen."

The Fat Controller gasped, "I haven't given them any orders! I think we have a 'Fake' controller on my railway. Now, do you know where they are?"

"Yes sir," called Hiro's Driver, "Edward has taken his passengers to Farmer Trotter's farm, Thomas is at the coaling plant, and Percy is on the Midland track."

"Very well, I'll phone the farm and the coaling plant, but what about the Midland?"

"It's along our route," said Hiro, "we'll go find Percy."

The Fat Controller smiled, "thank you Hiro, am I ever glad that you came back for the summer work."

Hiro smiled, then he puffed on his way to the Midland tracks.

When he arrived, he found Percy watching the ducks swimming in the water.

"Percy, you are to go to the big station, the Fat Controller wishes to speak to you."

"I would, but how am I suppose to get the ducks back into the crates? Everytime I blow my whistle, they swim away from me."

"Don't worry Percy, I'll help you get them back into their crates."

Hiro's Driver then pulled onto the whistle cord, and Hiro blew his whistle nice and softly, it sounded like a duck quacking. Before long, the ducks went flying back into their crates.

"Thank you Hiro," smiled Percy.

"You're welcome," he smiled, "now, please inform the Fat Controller that I'm going to be a little late getting back to the Big Station, I have something that I need to take care of something first."

Percy promised and puffed away as soon as the lids of the crates were closed. Then Hiro puffed on his way.

At the big station, The Fat Controller spoke to Thomas, Edward and Percy.

"I understand that you three have been getting orders from me, but I was nowhere to be seen. Let me just say this, that was not me, it was a fake controller."

"I wonder if it was Sir Loham Hatt again," thought Thomas quietly.

"I will deal with this Fake Controller later, in the meantime, here's what you three have to do. Edward, you are to take the passengers in your coaches to the town hall, Thomas, you are to take deck chairs there as well, and Percy, you are to take the ducks to Farmer McColl's farm."

"Yes sir," they all said.

Just then, they heard Hiro's loud whistle, he came puffing into the station, stopping beside platform 1.

"Sir, I have found your Fake Controller, actually, it's two!"

Behind Hiro were 'Arry and Bert, "oh bother," grumbled 'Arry.

"We've been caught again," grumbled Bert.

"I will deal with you two later," said the Fat Controller firmly, "in the meantime, Hiro, I would like you to collect your goods train and take it to the docks."

"Yes sir," smiled Hiro.

Once he was uncoupled from the scrap iron diesels, Hiro puffed off to the yards.

As the sun was going down for the day, Hiro had delivered his last train to the docks, then he puffed over to where Cranky was. The engines that could come, were all there to see Hiro off.

"Thank you Hiro," said the Fat Controller, "you certainly have been a great help to our railway. You certainly have been 'Helpful Hiro'."

Hiro smiled, then he looked over to Thomas, "I hope you'll come back to Sodor someday, Hiro."

"I hope so too," Hiro smiled.

When all was ready, Hiro was hooked up to Cranky's special hook, then he was lifted on board the ship. As he was loaded up, the engines blew their whistles and horns to him and said "Good luck!"

"Thank you my friends!" he smiled.

The whistling and honking of horns didn't stop until Hiro was out of sight.

I bet you're wondering about 'Arry and Bert, well...they were punished by the Fat Controller. They said they were only trying to find a way to have fun. For their punishment, they had to work at the steamworks. I bet now, they won't try to copy the Fat Controller's voice again, what do you think?


	52. Thomas, Sir Handel & the Christmas Tree

_**Thomas, Sir Handel and the Christmas Tree**_

_**Based on "Thomas' Tricky Tree"**_

It was a very busy time up in the hills, the little engines were kept busy making deliveries and doing all sorts of jobs. Skarloey was sent into the forest to help Rusty clear the rails of fallen branches. Mighty Mac was kept busy with the passengers, and Sir Handel was given an important job, he was to take a christmas tree to the Wharf for Thomas to collect later.

The tree was to be given to the Fat Controller as a gift from the Thin Controller.

Thomas puffed along to the Wharf, light engine, he was worried at first about his branch line work, but when he was told that Emily would take care of Annie and Clarabel, he felt much better.

When Thomas arrived at the Wharf, it was very busy with main line engines and little engines hard at work. Thomas looked all around him, but he couldn't see his special.

"Are you looking for something Thomas?" Duncan asked as he pulled up.

"Yes, I'm looking for a christmas tree."

Duncan took this as a chance to tease Thomas, "don't you know what a christmas tree looks like? It's tall, green and pointy." Thomas found this insulting, especially when Duncan called over to Peter Sam, "we need to help Thomas," Duncan puffed in a cheeky way, "he doesn't know what a christmas tree looks like."

"Of course I know what a christmas tree looks like," he huffed, "I've delivered more trees than you ever could!"

"That's enough Thomas," his Driver called firmly, "there's no need to argue with Duncan, we need to get that tree and quickly."

Thomas knew his Driver was right, so he puffed on his way, while Duncan chuckled over his own wit.

Soon enough, Thomas came upon Sir Handel, who had just shunted the tree into a siding.

"Good to see you Thomas," said Sir Handel kindly, "the christmas tree is..."

"I know, it's tall, green and pointy, thank you Sir Handel, but I don't need your help, I can find it on my own!"

Sir Handel was shocked by this behaviour, but before he could say anymore, Thomas was on his way again.

"What's gotten into him?" asked Sir Handel's Driver.

"I don't know," said Sir Handel, "but I'm sure he'll calm down soon enough, in the meantime, we need to get over to the Transfer yards to shunt."

"You really have changed since you went to the stone quarry," his fireman chuckled, "I'm liking the new and improved Sir Handel."

Thomas in the meanwhile, had puffed into a warehouse, Rusty the little diesel was there, he was having his engine looked over by Mr. Hugh.

"Hello Thomas, are you looking for something important?"

"You could say that, yes."

"Would you like some help?"

"No thank you Rusty," Thomas looked around, but neither he or his crew could find the tree anywhere, "I guess we'll have to keep looking," he groaned and puffed away.

Thomas puffed into another warehouse, where he finally found what he was looking for. In front of him was a long flatbed, with something covered under a tarbpulin.

"There it is," Thomas smiled, "I knew we could find it on our own."

"Come on then," said his Driver, "let's get this tree to the Fat Controller."

Thomas puffed forward and was soon pushing the flatbed out of the warehouse. Thomas felt pleased with himself, but that's when the trouble began.

Ice had frozen some points, and now Thomas was being diverted onto the wrong line.

"Stop!" he cried.

Thomas' Driver slammed on his brakes, but it didn't do any good as Thomas was skating on icey rails. Try as he might, Thomas couldn't stop, his flatbed went crashing into a set of buffers and the object went splashing into the canal.

"Oh bother," groaned Thomas, "the tree is ruined."

Skarloey was nearby, he had seen everything, "that isn't a tree, that's a load of pipes that Molly is suppose to be collecting later."

"Pipes?" Thomas asked, "but I thought that this was a tree, it was covered up after all."

"Sir Handel brought your tree in earlier, if you wanted to know where it is, why didn't you just ask him?"

"I...I didn't want to look foolish in front of him."

"There's nothing foolish about asking for help," said Skarloey wisely, "when you do, then you can get the job done without any trouble."

"I guess so," sighed Thomas unhappily.

Skarloey's Driver went to call for help, and soon, a crane was brought over to the canal to help load the pipes back onto dry land. Then once the mess was cleared, Thomas puffed on his way to the Transfer yards.

Sir Handel was resting in a siding after completing his shunting duties when Thomas arrived.

"Hello Thomas, did you find the Christmas tree?"

"No, I couldn't find the tree. I don't know where it is."

"Then why didn't you ask for my help before?"

So Thomas explained about what happened earlier with Duncan, "I thought that asking a little engine like yourself was foolish, but I was wrong, it's not foolish to ask for help."

"You got that from Skarloey, am I right?"

"Yes, Sir Handel, will you please help me?"

In the olden days, Sir Handel would've taken the chance to tease engines after they did something wrong, but after his trip to the stone quarry, he was now a much well mannered engine, and was more than glad to help.

"Just follow me Thomas, I'll show you where that tree is."

"Thank you."

Sir Handel was quick, but Thomas did his best to catch up with the little engine all the way to the Wharf.

The sun was already setting for the day when Thomas was finally coupled up to the flatbed that had the tree on it.

"Thomas," called Duncan, "I'm sorry I teased you, you know how I am."

"Yes I know," Thomas smiled, "but it's okay. Oh and Sir Handel, thank you for helping me to find the tree."

"No problem Thomas," he smiled, "always glad to lend a buffer."

"For once," Duncan chuckled.

Sir Handel just chuckled happily, and so did Thomas as he puffed on his way.

Later that night, the Fat Controller got the grand honors of turning on the Christmas tree lights, it looked wonderful. Thomas certainly was impressed, but he knew that he would never have been able to find it without Sir Handel's help.

"Am I ever glad that I asked him for help," he smiled, "he certainly has come a long way from the engine that first came to the little railway years ago."

"He's not the only one who's come a long way," said his Driver, "I'm sure that you'll become just as wise and helpful as Sir Handel."

Thomas happily agreed with his Driver, he was sure that he would one day become as wise as Skarloey, Edward or even the little dark blue engine named 'Sir Handel'.


	53. Gordon & Spencer Go Foreign

_**Gordon & Spencer Go Foreign**_

_**Based on "Gordon & Spencer" and "Gordon Goes Foreign"**_

Besides the normal amount of traffic that travels on the Fat Controller's railway, there's also the trains from the Other Railway. The engines of the Other Railway sometimes pull the express to Vicarstown station, then it's handed over to Gordon or one of the other main line engines.

Sometimes, the Other Railway Engines will spend the night in the sheds with the Sodor engines, and while some are nice, there are others that are not so friendly. After spending the night in the sheds, the engines return back to the Other Railway the following day.

One day, Gordon was pulling up to Knapford sheds to take on water, when he spotted an engine he had never seen before. It was a sleak silver engine, quite like the engines Gordon saw back on his old railway. The sleak engine was a pacific, meaning that he has four front wheels, six driving wheels and two back wheels, quite like Gordon.

"Who are you?" Gordon asked.

"You don't know who he is?" James piped up, "that is Spencer, the Duke and Duchess' private engine."

"Yes indeed," boasted Spencer, "I am their private engine, I take them everywhere. They've onloaned me to the Other Railway because of busy traffic on their line."

"He's also one of the fastest engines in the world," said James.

"I know that," huffed Gordon, but secertly, he was impressed. Like any other Sodor engine would, Gordon spoke to this engine, "I remember when I was young and green that there was this one station I always liked going to, have you heard of it? It's called King's Cross."

"King's cross?" sniffed Spencer, "London is Euston, everyone knows that."

"Not Gordon," James chuckled.

"You're both wrong," Duck snapped, who was also taking on water, "it's not Euston or King's Cross, it's Paddington Station, I know that because I used to work there."

I'm sorry to say that this only started an argument between the three engines. They argued all night until they went to sleep, then they argued again in the morning, until it was time for Spencer to go.

"Before you go dashing off," Gordon advised, "you might want to take on water, otherwise..."

"I have plenty of water," snorted Spencer and he wheesed away.

"He thinks he knows everything," Gordon sniffed, "Euston station indeed, stupid thing."

"Stupid yourself," said Duck, "I'm telling you, the station is called Paddington!"

"Stop your arguing," James broke in, "you're making me feel tired, you've both agreed on something anyways."

"What's that?" Duck and Gordon asked together.

"That London is not Euston, now shut up and go do your jobs."

Gordon was soon out on his way to collect the express, but just before he reached the big station, he was diverted onto a siding.

"What's going on here?" he cried, "why am I in a siding? The express can't wait!"

"I know Gordon," said his Driver calmly, "but there's nothing we can do, we'll just have to wait for whoever is coming through."

They didn't have long to wait as the reason for the delay went flying past them, it was Spencer, he was racing light engine to the big station. Gordon was once again at a loss of words.

Spencer soon had his important passengers, the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, and their friends, then once the guard had blown his whistle, Spencer raced along threw the countryside.

The visitors were having a grand time watching all the sights fly past them.

"We should probably stop for water at the next station," called his Driver.

"No need to!" snorted Spencer, "we've got plenty of water!"

Famous last words, cause as Spencer was starting to make his way up Gordon's hill, the steepest hill on Sodor, his speed started to decrease, then he came to a complete stop.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"You stupid foolish engine, you've run out of water, now we're stranded. You're lucky that I saw a phone box further down this hill, I'll call for help."

When the message got out, the stationmaster told Gordon to wait by the sidings, while Henry took over the express for the day. Gordon's Driver went off to speak with the stationmaster, then he came back grinning happily.

"What's going on?" asked the fireman.

"You are not going to believe this," said the Driver, "but Spencer has run out of water on Gordon's hill, and we've been asked to take him and his special train to London. They asked the Fat Controller and he said it was okay."

"Sounds great," said the fireman, "let's show that Spencer what a Sodor engine can do."

"I certainly will," he smiled.

Gordon soon reached his hill, he was looking forward to seeing Spencer this time.

"Run into a bit of trouble?" Gordon asked cheekily.

"Yes," sniffed Spencer, "I must have a leaky tank."

"Or maybe it has something to do with the lack of stops you made at water towers," Gordon chuckled, "never mind though, I'll get you to London in no time."

Gordon was soon switched over to Spencer's line and was coupled up. It almost felt like an eternity, but at last, the guard blew his whistle and Gordon was ready to go.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" he puffed.

"We're going to town! We're going to town!" cried the coach, they went slowly at first, then Gordon began to pick up speed.

He soon found out that London was a long way off, "never mind," he said, "I like a good run to stretch my wheels."

Spencer didn't say anything during the rest of the trip.

They soon arrived at the London station in fine style, "see," Gordon called, "we're right on time!"

Spencer felt foolish and was a lost of words. The passengers all came out to thank Gordon and his crew for coming to help, then they took his picture.

Gordon's pressence in London brought the local newspaper companies to the station to see him.

By the next day when Gordon was ready to go back with the express, everyone knew about Gordon being in London. The local newspapers read 'Famous Sodor Engine at London Station, Police called to Control Crowds'.

It was late in the afternoon when Gordon came into the big station.

"Did you have a good time in London?" asked the Fat Controller.

"We did indeed," said his Driver, "we signed autographs until we couldn't write anymore, and Gordon had his picture taken in so many directions that he didn't know which why to look."

"Good," smiled the Fat Controller.

"So," Duck called, "was I right about the station?"

"No you weren't, and neither was I," said Gordon sadly, "it's not Paddington, King's Cross, or Euston. They changed it, it's now 'St. Pancras'."

Needless to say, from that moment onwards, there was no more talk about London Station's name or of Spencer. Speaking of which, he was quiet for a long time after his return, I don't think he'll ignore the use of water towers again, what do you think?


	54. Thomas Works Hard

_**Thomas Works Hard**_

_**Based on "Chickens to School"**_

The engines of Sodor work hard all time, they are mostly seen working during the day, but they could also be working during the nighttime too. Gordon sometimes pulls the latenight express, Percy and Oliver deliver the post trains, and some of the other main line engines or branch line engines work with late night goods.

Coal deliveries are sometimes made during the night too, and tonight, Thomas the Tank Engine was working hard. He had been called away from his branch line to help with this work, and now he had to puff along with a long train of coal trucks.

He and his crew were wiped out when they returned to the sheds.

"I wish I had some help with the coal deliveries," he panted.

Gordon snorted, "you little engines never do understand hard work if it came to biff you in the buffers. We big engines never need help."

It was then that the Fat Controller arrived in his car, "I need an engine to do three important jobs, do I have a volunteer?"

"I'll do it!" blurted out Thomas, he knew that he was tired and so was his crew, but he wanted to show Gordon how useful he could be.

"Alright then Thomas," said the Fat Controller, "You must collect the sheep from the fields and take them to Farmer McColl's farm, then you must collect the chickens and take them to Market, and you must collect the children from Maron station and take them to their school."

"Why can't Bertie take them?" Henry asked.

"Bertie has broken down and has gone to be repaired," he answered, "can you do all that, Thomas?"

"I will sir, you can count on me."

"I know I can."

When the Fat Controller had left, Gordon snorted loudly, "that's a lot of jobs for a small engine, you'll need help for sure."

"Leave the little engine alone," Henry piped up.

Thomas ignored Henry at that moment, he was too focused on Gordon's words, which made him cross, "No I won't need help. Tank engines never get tired, you just wait and see Gordon."

With that said, Thomas puffed on his way, fuming crossly.

Later on that morning, Henry stopped at Edward's station and told him all about the discussion that went on that morning.

"Same old Gordon," sighed Edward, "and same old Thomas, he's got to learn to never take Gordon's words so seriously."

"Not to make things worse," Henry added, "but Thomas looked really tired when he left the sheds."

"Hmm yes," Edward poundered for a moment, "if he's tired, that will cause trouble for him in the long run."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I do think so."

Thomas in the meanwhile, had collected his special train, then he collected the sheep, then the chickens, and finally the children. Thomas' wheels felt sore as he waited for the children to board.

"This will show Gordon, this will show Gordon," he puffed to himself.

Once the guard had blown his whistle, Thomas puffed on his way. He puffed over Gordon's hill with ease, and puffed through Henry's tunnel, then he puffed through the countryside.

As he puffed along, Thomas reminded himself of where they had to go, "Sheep to Farm, Chickens to Market, and Children to school."

I'm sorry to say that as he continued to puff along, he grew more and more tired, and he started to get his jobs mixed up.

"Sheep to Market, Children to Farm, and Chickens to school," he yawned.

"Is that right?" asked the fireman.

"I guess so," said the Driver, both he and the fireman were feeling very tired indeed.

When Thomas arrived at the market, he told the workmen to unload the sheep. The workmen were confused, but they did as they were asked.

While Thomas waited, Emily arrived, light engine, she was on her way to collect her coaches.

"You look tired Thomas," she said kindly, "would you like some help?"

"No thank you," said Thomas quietly, "tank engines don't need help, I can do all these jobs on my own."

When the sheep were unloaded, Thomas puffed away slowly, he felt more worn out than before.

"Poor Thomas," Emily sighed to herself.

When Thomas came up to the farm, he told the children that they had to get off here.

"Is this a field trip?" one asked, "I don't remember the teachers saying anything about it in class yesterday."

Thomas and his crew were too tried to notice what they were doing, they puffed away as soon as the guard's whistle blew. Then when they arrived at the school, they told the teachers to unload the chickens.

Once again confused, they did unload the chickens. Once they were off, Thomas puffed 'sleepily' away.

It didn't take too long for the Fat Controller to find out what's been going on, he was getting lots of phone calls.

"What's that you say?" he asked, "the sheep are knocking over the market stalls? The children are at the farm? And there are chickens in the classroom? Don't worry, I'll get to the bottom of this."

At the sheds, Thomas had just pulled in, he was looking more worn out than he was before.

"Are you okay Thomas?" Edward asked.

"I'm fine," he puffed, "I just need some sleep, that's all."

Before Thomas could close his eyes, the Fat Controller's car pulled up, he didn't look too happy when he stepped out.

"Thomas, what kind of game are you playing at? I've been getting lots of phone calls today," then he told Thomas and his crew of what they had done.

"We're sorry sir," called the crew, "we've been working all night, and all of yesterday too, that's probably why we messed up our deliveries."

"I see," said the Fat Controller, "but if you tired, why didn't you just tell me this, Thomas?"

"I wanted to prove Gordon wrong, he said that big engines never need to ask for help, so I wanted to show him that tank engines don't need help either."

Edward then cut in, "Thomas, you shouldn't take Gordon's words too seriosuly, he's always trying to show-off. And besides, he does need help sometimes, especially when I have to push him up his own hill."

Thomas felt foolish, but not as much as Gordon, who blushed bright red.

"Sir," Edward called, "if you want, Percy and I could help with Thomas' deliveries."

"I'd be happy to help," Percy cut in.

"Then it's settled," smiled the Fat Controller, "Edward, you will collect the chickens and take them to Market, they are at the school. Percy, you will collect the sheep from market and take them to the farm, and Thomas, you will collect the children from the farm and take them to the school."

"Yes sir," said the three engines in chrous, "we're on our way!"

And that's just what they did, Percy collected the sheep, Edward collected the chickens, and Thomas went to collect the children.

"I'm sorry about what happened," he said, "We were just feeling a little tired, so that's why we dropped you off here."

"That's alright Thomas," they said while smiling, "we had a grand time today learning about the farm and the animals here."

"I'm glad something good has come out of today's events," Thomas thought happily to himself.

Gordon remained respectfully quiet throughout the rest of the day. And that night, Thomas got a good night's sleep. He dreamed as any engine will, of good times in the past.


	55. Hector and the Coal Delivery

_**Hector and the Coal Delivery**_

_**Based on "Hector the Horrid"**_

Whenever he's not pulling Annie and Clarabel down the branch line, Thomas the Tank Engine will shunt troublesome trucks. Ever since his first day of handling trucks, Thomas has learned how to keep them in control. He now knew just as much as Edward does, and is not afraid to show the trucks a lesson if they misbehave.

One morning, the Fat Controller came to speak with Thomas, James and Edward.

"A special load of coal is needed for the Other Railway," he said, "James and Edward, you will take the trains. Thomas, I need you to help Rosie with the shunting, Percy and Daisy will do your jobs until you get back," then he walked away.

No sooner was the Fat Controller out of sight, then Bill and Ben, the china clay twin engines, came puffing into view. They had a very big truck in between them, who would biff and bash them.

"What are you two doing with that large truck?" Thomas asked.

"We're taking it to the coaling plant," panted Ben, "we were asked by the Fat Controller to deliver him."

"Does he really need two engines to move him?" James asked.

"Only when he's biffing you and will not listen," said Ben.

"Which is all the time," said Bill, "we've been getting bashed by him ever since we collected him from the docks. He's called Hector, but we call him 'Hector the Horrid'."

"Be careful around him," advised Ben, "he's one tough truck."

Once their signal had dropped, Bill and Ben puffed away, while Hector continued to biff and bash them.

"I certainly wouldn't want to have a truck like him on my train," said James.

"He doesn't look that tough," Thomas said confidently, "I'm sure I can keep him in order." James and Edward were not so sure about that.

When Thomas arrived at the coaling plant, he could see Hector on the line in front of him. Hector didn't look too friendly, the trucks giggled out loud.

"You better watch yourselves," giggled the stupid trucks, "we've got Hector the Horrid on our side, should you biff or bash us, he'll get you back."

"Rubbish," huffed Thomas.

"Alright Thomas," said his Driver, "let's shunt Hector first."

Just as Thomas was about to reply back, Hector roared, "keep away! Come closer and I'll bash you!"

"You can't bump me if..."

"Never mind Thomas," His Driver interupted, "there's no point arguing with Hector, we'll shunt the other trucks first, then we'll deal with him."

Thomas agreed, then he reserved away to shunt the other trucks.

While Thomas shunted the rest of the trucks, he could feel that Hector was watching him from he stood, and scowling quietly.

"Maybe it will be a little harder to shunt him," he thought to himself.

Edward's train was soon ready, but James' train was a couple trucks short. The coaling plant manager came over to speak with Thomas, "you'll need to shunt Hector under the coal hopper," he said, "but after seeing the way he's been acting, you might want to wait for Rosie to help."

Thomas quietly agreed, but he was worried what would happen if they had to shunt Hector.

Soon enough, Rosie came up to see the new truck, she looked eager to shunt him.

"This will be great!" she cheered happily, "I've never shunted such a big truck before."

"Me neither," said Thomas, "but we'll have to be careful, Hector might..."

"KEEP AWAY OR I'LL BASH YOU!" bellowed Hector.

Rosie was scared when she heard Hector yell like that, that she started to shake voilently. Her Driver was bounced about in the cab, then he bumped into the reserver and Rosie dashed away.

Thomas looked over to Hector, he was cross.

"I don't know why you're acting like this!" he shouted, "first you bump the china clay twins, then you shout at me, then you scare Rosie away! Now the special won't be ready!"

"Do you think I care? I don't want to be shunted, and that is that!"

"No it is not! You're going to be shunted, like it or not!"

This started an argument between the two, many workmen came to see what was going on. This went on and on, until Thomas had had enough, he charged towards Hector and biffed him hard!

"How do you like it?" Thomas asked angerily.

"KEEP BACK OR..."

"Oh shut up!" Thomas snapped, "you're nothing but a big bully, one that needs to be put in his place! I'll teach you!"

Thomas biffed Hector so many times that the giant hopper rolled backwards many times.

"STOP!" shouted the workmen, "or you'll cause an accident!"

But it was too late. Thomas bashed Hector hard, much too hard - the bump pushed Hector down the siding, which sent Hector the Horrid into a pile of coal.

Thomas was brought over to where the big hopper was, "had enough?" Thomas asked sternly.

"Yes, yes," Hector cried, "I surrender! Don't bump me again!"

When Thomas had finally calmed down, he looked to Hector's face, he didn't look so fierce now, he looked upset.

"What's the matter?" Thomas asked kindly.

"Besides the fact that you've pushed him off the rails," said his Driver, who was stunned by what had happened, "I've never seen you act like that, Thomas."

"I didn't want to be shunted," Hector groaned, "I've never been filled with coal before, I don't know what it'll be like."

The other trucks then began to tease him, "so much for Hector the Horrid, he's a big softie."

"Shut up!" snapped Thomas, "or I'll give you the same treatment!"

The trucks fell silent at once.

The plant manager phoned down the line, they found out that Rosie had stopped by a lonely signalbox, and now Duck was helping her back to the sheds. Then they phoned for Rocky, who was brought to the coaling plant by Molly.

Hector was soon back on solid steal rails, but he still looked miserable.

"I know how you feel," Thomas said to the big truck, "you might feel a little scared when you have to start something new, but isn't scary. If you'll allow me, I'll show you."

Hector agreed, and he was soon brought over to the hopper. Thomas was uncoupled, then he rolled underneath the hopper. Coal dust came pouring out, landing in his coal bunker.

When the dust settled, Hector could see that Thomas was okay.

"See, it's fun, and it actually tickles, would you like to be filled up now?"

"Don't!" cried the trucks, "you're aganist the idea of being shunted or being filled with coal!"

Hector however didn't listen to them, "I would like to be filled, please pull me under the chute, Thomas."

So once Thomas was coupled up to Hector, he pulled him under the chute. Hector chuckled as he loaded up, "You were right Thomas," he cried, "it does tickle."

Thomas soon shunted Hector to the back of James' train, then they talked until Edward and James arrived. James was surprised to see Hector at the back of his train.

"Well done Thomas," he said, "was it difficult to shunt him?"

"No, no trouble at all."

"I guess you were right after all," James smiled.

James and Edward were soon coupled up to their trains, then they set off for the Other Railway. As they were leaving, Thomas whistled "Good Luck", but it wasn't for James and Edward, it was for Hector the Not So Horrid Truck, who is now a friend to any engine, thanks to Thomas.


	56. Chocolate Engine

_**Chocolate Engine**_

_**Based on "Percy's Chocolate Crunch" and "Scrambled Eggs"**_

One of the bridges on Thomas' branch line was in need of some repairs, Toby, Percy and Daisy were alright to stay on the branch line, but Thomas was too heavy. The Fat Controller sent him to work in the yards of the big station, Thomas didn't mind the work.

Percy did however, without Thomas, he had twice as much work to do. He had to collect Thomas' trucks as well as his own.

One morning, Percy was in the yards at the big station after taking a goods train there. He met up with Thomas, James and Gordon at the water towers.

"I wish the workmen would finish the work on the bridge soon," said Percy to Thomas, "there's too much work on the branch line."

"Rubbish Percy," said James, "as I have told you before, if you worked more and chattered less, then you wouldn't have a problem. Now if you painted red like me, then you would feel different."

Percy blew off steam indignity, "let me tell you," be began, but he never finished.

Cause at that moment, the Fat Controller arrived, "we've got a little bit of a water shortage near the washdown area, so until we get word that the shortage has passed, no engine shall have more than one washdown a day."

Then he left to tell other engines about the news. Percy was upset, "I get dirty all the time," he complained, "I need to be washed, Gordon and James only do it to feel important."

"We are important," huffed Gordon, "we are main line engines, we deserve it."

"It doesn't matter if you get dirty Percy," snickered James, "tank engines are suppose to be dirty."

"No we're not!"

"Now, now," said his Driver, "That's quite enough Percy, we better get going, those trucks won't move themselves you know."

Percy sighed unhappily and puffed away to the coaling plant.

"You just have to take them so seriously," his Driver said to himself.

"I guess so," Percy groaned, "I sure wish I knew how you handle them."

When Percy arrived at the coaling plant, he collected some coal trucks and took them under the chute. The trucks were up to their usual tricks and thought it would be fun to play their tricks on Percy.

As he was pushing them under the chute, they shouted "On! On! On!" then they surged forward and pulled Percy under the chute.

Coal dust fell everywhere, including on top of Percy, "oh no," he coughed, "not again! I didn't like being in coal dust before and I certainly don't like it now."

"Oh well," sighed his Driver, "we'll clean as much of the coal off you, then we'll load the trucks."

When the trucks were finally loaded up, Percy took them all to Callan Station. As he puffed along the line, the trucks started singing "Clickety Clack, Don't Look Back! Dirty Percy's on our tracks!"

"Shut up!" snapped Percy.

The trucks heard, but they just ignored him.

When they arrived at Callan Station, Percy was very upset, "I'll be glad to get back to the branch line, I want to do jobs where I won't get dirty."

"Hello Percy," called Harold who was nearby, "how are you doing my friend?"

"I'm okay, except I keep getting dirty. What are you doing here?"

"I'm dropping off medical supplies to lots of locations, it's essential. Well I love to stay and chat, but I must be going, bye bye!"

As Harold was taking off, cinders and ashes went flying all over Percy's boiler.

"Sorry old chap!" called Harold and he buzzed away.

"Why that Harold!" Percy cried, "he did that on purpose! I want a washdown now!"

"Sorry Percy," said his Driver, "but if we go for a washdown now and you get dirty again, then you'll have to sleep dirty."

Percy groaned, he did not like the idea of going to sleep all dirty.

"Tell you what," said his Driver, "we could take those vans full of sugar to the chocolate factory, then we'll go back to the branch line."

"Yes please," said Percy happily, "at least sugar is nice and clean, unlike coal."

Once he was coupled up, and the guard had blown his whistle, Percy set off for the chocolate factory.

At the factory, there was trouble. BoCo had been there earlier that day, and one of his tanks had a leak in it, and now an oil slick was on the rails. The factory manager and some of the employees were going to go out to clean up the mess, when they heard a train coming!

Percy wasn't going too fast, but when he reached the oil slick, he skidded along the rails.

"Help!" Percy cried.

His Driver braked hard, but it was no good. Percy hit the wall with a loud crash - "luck," he groaned, "I've never been this dirty."

The factory manager was upset, "just look at my factory, what a way to make chocolate engines."

Percy's Driver and fireman were unhurt, so they went out to see if Percy was okay. When they got a look at him, they couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not funny," Percy groaned.

"You're not standing where we are," said his Driver, "you look just like a chocolate engine."

Percy groaned quietly to himself.

After the mess had been cleared up, BoCo took Percy's train, while Duck took Percy to the sheds. The other engines thought he looked comicial.

"Bon-bon Percy," teased James.

"Choc ice on wheels," chuckled Henry.

"It's Disgraceful," said Gordon.

"Leave him alone," said Thomas firmly, "accidents can happen you know."

"Percy!" called a voice, it was the Fat Controller, "I heard that you got your own personal tour of the chocolate factory."

"I'm sorry sir," groaned Percy, "I didn't mean to cause that accident."

"It's okay Percy, I know it was not your fault. Now, I have heard from your crew that you've had a busy day, so I think that there deserves a new coat of paint."

"Oh thank you sir," said Percy happily.

"You have shown today that despite being dirty, you were still able to complete your work, that there is a perfect example of a really useful engine."

Percy just beamed.

Percy was soon cleaned and given a brand new coat of paint. The chocolate factory was also soon repaired, and so was the bridge on Thomas' branch line, and the water shortage at the washdown passed after a few weeks, much to the relief of the other engines.

When Thomas came back, instead of teasing each other with ghosts, dragons or chocolate engines, Thomas and Percy spoke to each other about the work that they did during the time of the work on the bridge.

Personally though, I think Percy is happy to not be a 'chocolate engine'. Don't you think so?


	57. Dangerous Going Backwards

_**Dangerous Going Backwards**_

_**Based on "Don't Go Back"**_

Bill and Ben the China Clay twins, usually work at the china clay pits on Edward's branch line, but when needed, the twins can often be sent off to the Ffraquhar Quarry where Mavis the Diesel Engine works. After they get special permission, they puff off to the station where Mavis meets up with them.

Then the three engines will go along the same route where Thomas once got in trouble with the policeman.

Once at the quarry, the three engines work hard to complete the job. I'm sorry to say that even in a different place, Bill and Ben can still get into arguments and will cause trouble in the long run.

One day, the twins were at the quarry again, they were to help Mavis with several specials over the next few days. As usual, the twins were arguing.

"I say I'm the fastest of the two of us," said Ben.

"You are not!" snapped Bill, "I'm the fastest of the two of us!"

"Then why don't you prove it?" Ben suggested, "we'll have a race as we do our work."

"You're on!"

"Good, and there's one more thing, we have to puff along backwards threw the quarry. Do you still want to do this? If you don't, then that's okay, I'll just claim the title of the fastest china clay engine on Sodor."

Bill was determined not to let Ben win, "I'm in, I'm not afraid to go backwards!"

Their drivers were also eager to the idea of a race, and so they agreed.

The twin's first job was to shunt some trucks under the hopper, then once they were filled to the top, they would be shunted out of the way for Mavis to take to Ffraquhar where Percy or Rosie would come and collect them.

"Let's begin our race now," said Ben, "we'll race to see which engine can make it to the hopper first."

"Very well," said Bill.

So once the twins were coupled up to their trucks, they puffed their way to the hopper, backwards! First Bill took the lead, then Ben dashed in front.

"I'll show Bill that I'm the fastest out of the two of us," Ben giggled to himself.

He soon reached the hopper, he thought for sure that he had beat his twin, but he was wrong. While he was busy thinking to himself, he hadn't noticed that Bill had raced ahead of him and was now getting his trucks filled.

His last truck was just being filled when Ben puffed into view, and bashed his train out of the way.

The man in charge of pulling the chain for the chute, jumped in surprise. He accidently pulled on the lever, and the quarry dust went flying all over Ben.

"Ha, ha, ha," snickered Bill, "so much for being the fastest, huh Ben?"

Ben snorted, "just you wait Bill, I'll win a race!"

"We'll see."

Ben's chance to prove Bill wrong came sooner than expected, as they now had to take their trucks into empty sidings. The two engines raced along side by side, trying to overtake each over.

"Ben will soon know that I am the fastest," Bill thought happily to himself.

That's when it happened, Mavis was being looked over by her Driver and neither one of them knew that Ben was puffing towards them until it was nearly too late.

When Mavis' Driver saw Ben coming, he jumped back in surprise, while the little yellow tank engine bumped into Mavis, knocking her off the tracks.

"Oh my," gasped Mavis, "whatever is happening?"

Bill then pulled up beside Ben, "I won Bill, do you wish to give up now?"

"No way," Bill chuckled, "you were lucky to win one race, and I already won one race, now we need one more to see which one of us is the fastest."

Their drivers agreed, and so it was decided that they would race to the sheds to see who was faster. They were having so much fun, that they didn't see Mavis' Driver wave to them.

"They're always causing trouble whenever they come here," he groaned, "why can't they learn to work together and behave themselves like Donald and Douglas?"

"I don't know," groaned Mavis, "we'll worry about them later, we need help to get me back onto the rails."

"Yes indeed," agreed her Driver, "I'll go call for Toby to come."

"There's no need, I think Toby's here already."

Mavis was indeed right, Toby was at the quarry, he was talking to the quarry manager at the sheds. The very same sheds that Bill and Ben were racing to!

Bill took the lead, then Ben took the lead, they were neck and neck. They had no idea that they were running towards Toby.

Toby and his Driver could see them coming, they rang the bell very loudly in a bid to warn them, but the twin's Drivers didn't hear them until it was much too late. When they did hear the bell, they slammed on the brakes, but the twins couldn't stop in time, and Ben bashed into Toby. The poor tram engine went crashing through the wall at the back of the shed.

"What was that?" asked Ben, who felt a little sore.

The manager looked over to the two engines, he was cross.

"You two silly engines," he cried, "thanks to your racing, Toby was pushed through the back of the shed, Mavis is derailed, and quarry dust has been spilled out near the hopper. You made a mess out of the quarry!"

"We're sorry sir," groaned Bill.

"We were only trying to find who was fastest engine and still do our work," added Ben.

The quarry manager sighed unhappily, "you can't do both, it is very dangerous as you have witnessed. Now, I want you two to clean up this mess, then finish your work!"

"Yes sir," said the twins quietly.

And that's just what they did, Bill and Ben worked together to pull Toby back onto the solid steal rails again, then they did the same for Mavis, with some help from the workmen. Then the two worked hard to fill the trucks with the stone until the trains were ready.

This went on and on for a few more days, until the work was complete.

"Nice work you two," said the manager, "you have made an improvement over the last few days."

"Thank you sir," said Bill.

"Now," he continued, "you two were trying to see which one is the fastest, well I think we can find out which one it is before you go back to your quarry."

"What do you mean sir?" asked Ben.

"Just go to the enterance of the quarry and get turned around, and you will see."

When the twins were turned around and arrived at the enterance, they soon found out as they saw racing flags at the enterance.

"I thought we weren't allowed to race anymore," said Bill.

"No," said Mavis, "you two were not allowed to race during worktime, but for today, we have made an exception," the twins looked excited, "also," Mavis continued, "you are to race forwards, for safety measures, you understand?"

"Yes," said the twins and their drivers, "we understand perfectly."

Once they were ready, the drivers opened the regulators and they ran on till they reached the sheds, where the quarry manager was waiting with the checkered flag. At first, they took the lead from each other, but they both finished together.

"Oh my," groaned the quarry manager, "I guess we'll need to have another race."

"It's okay sir," said Bill.

"You don't need to host another race," added Ben, "you have your work to continue with, and we need to get back to our quarry."

"Are you sure?"

"We're sure sir," said the two engines together.

"Okay then," smiled the manager.

Once Mavis arrived, she and the twins left the quarry together until they were at Ffraquhar station, then they puffed on, light engine, back to Edward's branch line.

Both engines were now a little wiser, and now knew that racing backwards can be dangerous, and it's better to go forwards, for safety reasons of course.


	58. James and the Trouble with Bees

_**James and the Trouble with Bees**_

_**Based on "Buzzy Bees"**_

One warm summer's afternoon, James was pulling into the docks, light engine, he was cross. He had to collect some flatbeds that were filled with boxes of beehives.

Hiro was nearby, he was collecting a train full of flower boxes.

"Why me?" James grumbled, "why do I have to collect these bees? The Fat Controller knows all too well that I don't like the little buggers."

"It's his orders, remember?" His Driver called.

"Did you ever have bee troubles?" Hiro asked.

"You can say that, Hiro," James grumbled, and explained about the time when a porter broke a beehive open, then how a little bee stung him right on the nose.

"That must've hurt."

"It did, which is why I will race down the line to get these bees to Farmer Trotter's farm."

Hiro looked firm, "James, you need to puff smoothly with the bees if you don't want to make them angry. Take my advice, take the track through Henry's forest, it'll be a quicker route to Farmer Trotter's farm."

Hiro's fireman had just coupled Hiro up to his trucks, then after he climbed back into the cab, Hiro began to puff away. He whistled "good luck" to James before he disappeared out of sight.

"I'm going to need all the luck I can get," James grumbled to himself.

He was backed up to his line of beehive trucks, then after being coupled up, James puffed slowly away.

Soon enough, James reached the junction before Henry's forest.

"Good," James thought to himself, "I'll soon be rid of these 'buzzy' pests soon."

He was only too glad that he said it to himself, otherwise the bees would sting him, so he thought. What neither James or his crew know was that the points leading to the forest were faulty today and were leading in a different direction.

James rolled over the points and was now puffing away from the forest.

They found that out when they saw a flowery field close to the tracks, then they heard some familar buzzing sounds.

"That better not be what I think it is," groaned the Driver and looked back, "oh glory!" he cried.

As he had feared, the bees had smelled the flowers, they flew out of their hives and flew over to the field. James' Driver stopped the train quickly and looked out to the field.

"At least they're not buzzing around my boiler again," James muttered.

"This isn't good," groaned the fireman, "Farmer Trotter is expecting these bees soon, we need to get them back into their hives."

"Yes, but how?" asked the Driver.

It was then that James had a thought, "we could borrow some of the flowers that Hiro took to Farmer McColl's farm," he suggested, "once the bees smell those flowers, they'll fly back to their hives."

The Driver and fireman were unsure of the plan, but they decided to give it a try, and so they puffed away for the farm.

They wanted to ask Farmer McColl if they could borrow a van, but he was no where to be seen. So once James had changed tracks, they uncoupled one of the vans and puffed back to the field.

"I'm sure Farmer McColl won't mind if we borrow one of his vans," James thought to himself.

They soon returned to the field and stopped beside the beehives.

"Listen up bees!" James called, "you need to go back to your hives now, I brought these flowers along for you, so get back over here!"

The bees did come, but not in the way James had hoped, they buzzed all around him, his cab and the van of flowers. James groaned as the bees buzzed around him, while his crew hid themselves from the bees.

"I guess my plan isn't going to work," James groaned.

"No, I guess not," said the Driver.

James wanted to puff away from the bees, but he wasn't going anywhere without the bees and without his Driver's hand on the regulator.

Just then, they heard another engine's whistle as it was coming down the tracks. It was Hiro, he was taking empty flatbeds to Henry's forest, but had been diverted onto James' line. He was stunned to see James surronded by the bees.

"Oh my, James," Hiro gasped, "what happened?"

"We took a wrong turn at the junction, the bees flew out, I took one of Farmer McColl's flower vans that you brought, then I brought it here, and now I'm surronded by these buzzy pests," he groaned loudly.

"And now we're stuck," called James' Driver.

Hiro looked at the situation, he thought for a minute, "James," he said after a while, "I suggest that you get yourself coupled up to your flatbeds, then find another track into the forest."

"How's that going to help with my bee problem?"

"The woods are a little bit cold, bees don't like that, they'll fly back into their hives."

"I sure hope you're right," groaned James.

James towed the flatbeds down the line, then he was switched over to the front of the train, then he puffed on until he reached another line that went into Henry's forest. As they puffed along, James and his crew soon saw that Hiro was right, the bees like being out in the cold.

"Time to go back to your hives and leave me alone!" James snapped.

The bees did go away, they flew back into their hives and stayed there throughout the rest of the trip. They soon arrived at Farmer Trotter's farm.

"Thank you James for delivering my bees, but why did you bring that extra truck with you?"

"It's another job I have to do," he answered, then he puffed away.

James soon arrived at Farmer McColl's farm, where Hiro was having a discussion with Trevor the Traction Engine.

"Had a bit of bee trouble James?" Trevor asked.

"Only a little," he muttered, "and thanks for the advice Hiro, it really helped."

"I'm always glad to be of service, and don't you worry, I won't tell the other engines about what happened today."

"That's good, cause the last thing I need is for Gordon and Henry to start teasing me about my busy and 'Buzzy' day."


	59. Thomas, James & the Team Special

_**Thomas, James and the Team Special**_

_**Based on "Thomas and the Colors"**_

One morning, the Fat Controller came to the sheds to speak with his engines, "I'm sure many of you are well aware," he said, "the Sodor football team has playing away games for a while. Well, the team is coming back to Sodor and are going to be facing off aganist the team from the Mainland."

The engines looked very excited, they all loved watching the Sodor team whenever they could get the chance.

The pervious year, James and the other main line engines like Gordon, Henry and Molly got the chance to bring the Sodor team to the field. This naturally made some of the other engines jealous.

"For this year, I have not decided on who will collect the team. I will inform you engines later, in the meantime, I would like you all to work your hardest as you always do, and I don't want to hear any complaining when I make my decision."

"Yes sir," said all the engines together.

Thomas hoped that he would get chosen this year, "this year might be my lucky year," he thought happily to himself.

"Come on Thomas," said his Driver, "we need to get going back to the branch line."

Thomas happily agreed and puffed away for the branch line.

Thomas worked hard all day long, taking his passenger trains or taking goods trains. After he had completed his branch line work for the day, Thomas puffed off to the railyards, light engine. He was hoping that he would have been chosen.

He was in for a huge disappointment when he arrived, there was James, he was covered from his front to the back of his tender with flags and streamers.

"James, what are you doing with the Sodor team flags?" Thomas asked, "you took the team the last time."

"It's quite simple, it's because I have already done all my jobs, so the Fat Controller decided to give me the chance to collect the team again."

James then puffed away to collect his coaches.

"Bother!" groaned Thomas.

He waited till his crew had returned with some instructions, then he puffed away.

As he puffed along to collect some trucks, he and James had to stop at a signal that stood beside a canal.

"Are you sure you don't want me to collect the Sodor team?" Thomas asked.

"I'm sure," smiled James.

"Well, I was just thinking, you could go collect the Trophy from the big station, that's an important and splendid job for an engine like you."

"No thanks Thomas, you can collect it if you want."

"Well, what about your red paint? Green spoils it completely, you don't look splendid now."

James looked down to the water in the canal, "you're right, I'm not splendid looking anymore, I look fantastic with these flags on. Now Thomas, I know you want the job, but you know what they say "Better luck next time".

James' signal dropped, and James puffed on his way, leaving Thomas to fume at his spot.

"I bet he bagged the Fat Controller to give him the job so many times that he gave it to James to keep him quiet."

"Oh well," said Thomas' Driver, "there's nothing we can do about it Thomas. Now come on, we have more work to do."

Thomas grumbled away as soon as his signal had dropped.

On his way to the big station, Thomas was stopped at a lonely signalbox at the junction for an old branch line.

"You'll have to go back," called the signalman, "James is due through any minute, he's suppose to take this track!"

Before anyone could do anything, they heard James' loud whistle in the distance. If the signalman didn't do anything soon, there will be an accident. He ran over to the levers and changed the points.

James was diverted onto the old branch line and just in the nick of time too.

"That was close," sighed the signalman.

Then there was trouble, they hear tearing sounds coming from the old branch line, it sounded like it was coming from James.

"That doesn't sound good," said Thomas' Driver, "we better go see what's going on."

They puffed along on the same line, close to the old branch line, that's when they saw it all. When James came out, his green flags and streamers had been torn to pieces.

"The low hanging branches destoryed them," James groaned, "I can't go like this, I need new flags and streamers."

"There isn't time to go back for new flags and streamers," said James' Driver, "you'll have to go on."

James groaned quietly, he thought the team would be mad at him and would think that he was making fun of them.

Thomas puffed sadly away, he felt terrible for what happened to James.

"It wasn't your fault Thomas," said his Driver, "it was that singalman who didn't chance the points..."

"Hang on," said the fireman, "there's trouble ahead!"

He was right, there was Bertie the Bus, his engine was steaming again.

"This old engine just doesn't work as well as it used to," he groaned, "thank goodness that you've come Thomas, can you take my passengers to the football game."

"We'll need to arrange it with the Fat Controller," said Thomas' Driver, "I'm sure he'll find another engine to do the goods work instead."

It was then that Thomas noticed that the fans were wearing green and white scraves and were carrying green and white flags. Seeing this gave Thomas an idea of how to cheer James up.

"Of course we'll help you Bertie," Thomas smiled.

After he collect Annie and Clarabel, then collecting Bertie's passengers, Thomas took them to find James. Once they caught up with him, the fans all helped to decorate James with their flags and scarves.

"Thank you Thomas, this was a good idea," James smiled. Thomas was happy to have helped.

And before long, James arrived at the Football field with the Sodor team, he was cheered to the echo by the team, the captain and the loyal fans on the platform.

Thomas soon arrived with Bertie's passengers, then the two engines watched the team from the platforms.

"We did a good job today," Thomas smiled.

"Yes indeed," James agreed happily, "and I hope that the next time the team plays, I hope you will get chosen."

Thomas smiled, "that is," James chuckled, "if you get to the station yard first before me."

"Oh I will," Thomas chuckled, then the two engines laughed as they continued to watch the game.


	60. A Problem for Gordon

_**A Problem for Gordon**_

_**Based on "Squeak, Rattle and Roll"**_

Gordon the Big Engine has been pulling the express for as long as he can remember, he's usually chosen for the express unless he's busy, then one of the other main line engines is chosen to take his place. Although, if you look down the tracks of the express line, you're always bound to see Gordon puff by with his express train.

One day, Gordon was just puffing out of the docks with his express, when he was stopped, because of Devious Diesel was in the way.

"Move out of the way!" Gordon called angerily, "the express can't held up, so move aside!"

"I'll move when I feel like it," Diesel growled quietly.

Of course it wasn't up to him, his Driver threw him into reserve and away from Gordon. Diesel was cross, "I don't see why you're more important than me."

"As I told you," huffed Gordon, "I'm pulling the express, it's one of the most important trains on Sodor."

"Well then," Diesel snickered quietly, "you better not get used to that train, cause I have a feeling that someday soon, the Fat Controller will realize that you steamers are useless, and will replace all of you. Why, I bet you'll be the first to be scrapped."

"Pah!" Gordon grunted, "that will never happen, the Fat Controller would never let that happen, he told me so himself many years ago. Besides, there is no engine out there that could take over the express."

Before Diesel could say anymore, Gordon puffed away. Gordon knew there were others that could match his strength, but he felt that he had made his point clear with Diesel.

All was going well, until Gordon heard a faint squeaking noise coming from his wheels.

"That's odd," he thought to himself, "I've never had that happen before."

"What is that weird noise?" the Driver asked. The fireman had no answer because he didn't what it was.

Gordon thought he knew, "what if I'm falling apart, Diesel might be right...no, he's wrong, it's nothing to get worried about." Secertly though, Gordon continued to worry.

Soon enough, he reached Gordon's hill, it was named Gordon's hill because Gordon had gotten stuck there many years before and had to be rescued by Edward. As he puffed up the hill, his speed was dropped to help him reach the top.

Gordon soon found out that the slower he went, the quieter his squeak became, "aha!" he thought to himself, "if I go slowly, then nobody will hear my squeak. It's better to be seen and not heard." Gordon puffed up the hill, feeling much better than before.

His plan worked perfectly for the entire day, and Gordon still managed to keep to time.

"I'm safe from scrap, I'm scrap from scrap," he puffed to himself.

At the end of the day, the Fat Controller came by the sheds to speak with Gordon.

"I need you to bring some important passengers from the big stations to the docks first thing tomorrow morning," he said, "the boat leaves at eight O'Clock, so we must not be late."

"Don't worry sir," Gordon smiled, "I'll get you and your passengers there in time."

"There's a good engine," smiled the Fat Controller, then he left.

Gordon was pleased to get a special job, but he was still worried. He slept badly that night, he dreamed about what would happen if went slowly, then he worried about what would happen if the Fat Controller found out about his squeak.

He woke the next morning, feeling exhausted, but he still puffed out after all the other engines left for their jobs.

Once coupled up to the express coaches, Gordon began to pick up speed. He was enjoying his run, until he heard his squeak return, then that was followed by another sound, it was a rattle.

"Oh dear," he groaned, "I can't be ready for the scrap yards, I can't."

The noises didn't go away for a while, until Gordon asked his crew if they could slow down.

"I guess it would be okay," said Gordon's Driver, "we are earlier than we should be."

And so, Gordon's Driver slowed Gordon down. Gordon crawled into the big station, he sure didn't feel like an important engine anymore. The passengers got in, the guard blew his whistle and Gordon puffed slowly away.

He puffed slowly along through the countryside, he didn't mind going that slowly.

"I'm safe from scrap, I'm safe from scrap," he puffed to himself.

His Driver and fireman tried everything they knew, but nothing was going to make Gordon speed up. The Fat Controller was cross, he spoke severaly to Gordon.

"What are you doing Gordon?" he asked, "you're suppose to be the fastest engine on Sodor, not the slowest! These passengers need to catch their boat before eight!"

"Yes sir," sighed Gordon unhappily.

Gordon's heart sank, he knew that if he sped up, then everyone would hear him squeak and rattle. Still though, even though this was going to be his last run, Gordon was not going to let the Fat Controller down.

"I can do this," he puffed, "Wheels don't let me down now!"

Within seconds, Gordon's wheels began to pound the rails, they spun faster and faster, and soon the nosies returned, but Gordon didn't care.

"Must be on time, must be on time," he panted to himself.

Before long, Gordon arrived at the docks, Salty and Henry were surprised to hear such noises coming from Gordon. Diesel snickered when he heard, "sounds like another steam engine is ready for the scrap yards."

Gordon didn't care about Diesel, he felt proud to be on time.

"Thank you Gordon," cried the passengers, "you were splendid today."

"Yes indeed," agreed the Fat Controller, "but I have heard your little noises," Gordon gulped, "I think you deserve a trip to the workshops."

"You're not going to scrap me sir?"

"Scrap you? I would never dream of doing such a thing. Who would pull the express if you were scrapped?"

"Maybe several diesels could," Diesel muttered.

Nobody listened to Diesel, his muttering was drowned in the sounds of whistles and airhorns being blown in delight.

"Thank you sir," Gordon smiled.

Gordon was soon sent to the workshops, he spent several days being repaired and before long, he was ran like a brand new engine. And needless to say, nobody spoke of scrapping Gordon, and Gordon is quite pleased that he's still one of Sodor's finest express engines to ever roll down the tracks.


	61. Emily Askes For Too Much

_**Emily Askes For Too Much**_

_**Based on "Pingy Pongy Pick Up"**_

It was that time of year again, this was when the Sodor United team returned to play aganist their rivals, the Mainland Wildcats. Usually, the Fat Controller picks out an engine to take the team, but he was a little too busy with important paper work on this day. So when he saw Edward, he asked him to help.

"I'll be glad to help sir, what would you like me to do?"

"Well Edward, I need you to ask an engine to collect the Sodor United team, another to collect the fans and one engine to collect the refreshments for the team."

"Right away sir," smiled Edward as he puffed off for the sheds.

Edward knew that he was going to be too busy to help with the jobs himself, so he decided to ask the next set of engines he saw. When he arrived at the sheds, there were Emily, Duck and James, they were waiting for jobs to do.

"The Fat Controller requires some of you to help with the preparations for the Sodor United team's arrival today," said Edward.

Emily looked really excited when she heard that, she was a huge fan of the football team and wanted to help. She was thinking about the games she had seen over the years, that she wasn't listening to Edward.

"Duck, can you collect the refreshments?"

"I'd be glad to," he said, "unless we have other jobs to do."

"Nope," said his Driver, "Oliver, Donald and Douglas are doing just fine on their own, so it's okay for us to collect the refreshments."

"James," Edward continued, "can you collect the fans?"

"Of course," he smiled.

Emily was hoping that Edward would allow her to take the Sodor United team, "please pick me, oh please pick me," she thought to herself.

"I could ask Thomas if he could collect the team," said James, "I don't think he's got a lot to do today."

"Okay then," Edward smiled.

When all was confirmed, Duck puffed off first, followed by James. Emily was in shock to see them leave, "where did everyone go? Was I given an important job?" she asked her Driver.

"I don't know," her Driver answered, "I wasn't paying attention."

"Maybe I'm suppose to collect the refreshments."

"In that case, we better get going," said the Driver.

With a full head of steam, Emily puffed off to collect the refreshments.

When she arrived at Maithwaite station, she could see Duck getting coupled up to the train.

"What do you think you're doing with my train?" Emily snapped, "I'm suppose to collect the refreshments."

"No," Duck said firmly, "it was confirmed this morning that I'm suppose to bring the refreshments to the Sodor United Team's field."

"Then let me be your back engine," she pleaded.

Before Duck could say anymore, Emily was switched over to his track, then after being coupled up, she tried to pull the train.

"STOP!" Duck shouted, but Emily wasn't listening. Duck pulled hard aganist Emily, but she was being too stubborn, she didn't want to give the train back to Duck.

The two engines tugged and pulled, pulled and tugged, until Emily's coupling broke. Duck and his train shot forward suddenly, luckily for him, the tankers didn't topple over.

"I don't need a back engine," Duck said firmly, "you better check with the Fat Controller of what kind of job you can do."

Emily sulked sadly, she didn't like to hear that. She puffed away to find other work.

Emily was soon coupled up to flatbeds of logs that were coming from the Whistling Woods. Emily's Driver had phoned the Fat Controller earlier, where he told them to collect the flatbeds from the woods. Even though she was working, Emily was feeling miserable.

"This isn't helping my team," she groaned, "I want to do something important."

"Oh well," said her Driver, "a job is a job, and we must do it."

Soon they reached a junction, James was coming along with the fans. Emily's face lit up at once, "I could help James with his passenger train," she thought happily to herself.

So instead of puffing off to another line, Emily stopped - right on James' line. Her crew tried hard to get her to start again, but Emily wouldn't move an inch.

"Look out!" shouted James, "move out of the way!"

Emily didn't move, but a quick thinking shunter did. He changed the points quickly and James ran onto an empty siding. He ran into the buffers with a big bump.

The guard went along the train to see if anyone was hurt, thankfully nobody was, but they were all cross with Emily.

"Why were blocking my line?" James asked.

"I was wondering if I could help you with your passenger train."

"No thank you, I can do this job, besides, you have your job to do. Now, will you please move off my line?"

At last, Emily's crew finally got control of her and moved her to another line. She waited impatiently while James passed with his passengers.

"Bother!" grumbled Emily.

With the line now clear, Emily was switched over back to the line she was on before, then she continued on her way.

As she puffed along, she saw Thomas with Annie and Clarabel, they had already collected the Sodor United team and were now puffing to the field.

"Hello Thomas," Emily called, "can I help you bring the team?"

"No thank you Emily," Thomas said kindly, "I can do this alone. Besides, you already have a job of your own."

"Maybe so, but I would like to help."

"Well I'm sorry Emily, but it's like I told you, I can take the team on my own. Besides, this is the first time in years I finally get to collect the team, it was nice of James to keep to his promise he made a few years back."

Thomas then puffed grandily away, while Emily puffed sadly away to the sawmill. She soon arrived on time, then once her fireman had uncoupled her from the flatbeds, Emily puffed away for the sheds.

Admitting defeat, Emily puffed sadly along the line, she felt awful.

"Now I know how Percy felt when he wasn't given a job for the fun fair," she sighed unhappily, "I only wish I could help the Sodor United team."

"I know you do," said her Driver, he was also disapointed, "cheer up old girl, there's always next year."

Emily remained quiet, that was until she arrived at Maron station and noticed a lorry's engine smoking, it's Driver was trying to fix it, but he was having a difficult time with the smoke surronding him.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Emily's Driver asked.

"Yes indeed," said the Driver, "I need you to take the Sodor United team uniforms to the field."

Emily was excited, until her fireman spoke up, "how are we going to do that? We don't have any coaches or trucks to carry them, and I don't think they'll stay clean here in the cab."

"What if we hung them all around me," Emily suggested, "they'll safe there like a clothes' line."

The crew thought it over for a while, then they agreed to try, "what a clever engine you are," smiled her Driver.

Soon enough, Emily had all of the team's clothes all over her boiler and her tender, then she puffed slowly away to the fields.

Emily puffed along, light engine, feeling proud to be helping at long last. Many of the other engines were surprised to see Emily with the team's clothes, but Emily didn't mind if they stared at her.

"I'm doing something to help the team, I don't care if they look at me like that."

When she passed by stations, people clapped and cheered for Emily. This went on, even when she arrived at the football field.

"Thank you Emily," said the team's captain, "I was wondering when we were going to get our uniforms, you certainly have been helpful."

Emily was quite pleased to hear that, and spent most of the afternoon cheering for the Sodor United team, until she was called away for another job.

That night, the Fat Controller came to the sheds to speak to Emily.

"I heard you nearly derailed Duck's trucks, and nearly had an accident with James' train," he said sternly.

"I'm sorry sir," Emily groaned quietly, "I was just trying to be helpful."

"You don't know how many times I hear that," the Fat Controller chuckled, then he continued, "I've also heard what you did for the team, that was some clever thinking there. Although, it is the first time that I've heard of a clothes' line on wheels before."

Emily giggled quietly, but not for too long.

"You did a good job today, I am proud of you," then the Fat Controller added, "And I promise you that next year, you can take the team yourself."

Emily beamed with pride, "thank you sir," she smiled, "I won't let you or our team down, I promise. Go Sodor United!"

The Fat Controller chuckled quietly as he walked happily to his car, and Emily smiled brightly, knowing that she was helpful to the team, even if it meant becoming the first clothes' line engine on Sodor.


	62. It Doesn't Pay to Be Lazy

_**It Doesn't Pay to Be Lazy**_

_**Based on "Thomas' Day Off"**_

On the Fat Controller's railway, all the engines work hard taking either goods or passengers. They do their best to please the Fat Controller, and when they have to, the engines will do their best to teach younger or newer engines that working hard pays off, instead of being lazy.

One morning, the Fat Controller came to the sheds to speak with his engines.

"A new engine is coming to our island today," he said, "his name is Dennis, he's on trail runs for a while, and if all goes well, then he'll be sent off to Duck and Oliver's little western branch line."

"This will be good for Duck and Oliver," Thomas smiled, "they've been run off their wheels alot lately."

"Indeed we have," said Duck, who had arrived with trucks from his branch line, "Oliver and me have enough to do, and we know that Donald and Douglas can't come and work on our line all the time. So this Dennis might be a great relief to all of us."

"It really makes no difference to us," grumbled Gordon, "unless he's working in the yards for us."

Gordon was quickly hushed by the other engines.

The Fat Controller then turned his attention to Thomas, "I would like you to work with Dennis today, Daisy and Toby can do the rest of your jobs for today."

"Yes sir," said Thomas happily.

Later on that day, Thomas arrived at the railyards to find the new diesel working there. It was Dennis, and he was having some trouble with the trucks.

"Hello there," Thomas called, "are you having trouble here?"

"Yes," Dennis groaned, "these trucks are being horrid to me, they slipped their brakes on and refuse to be moved. I've been trying to shunt them, but I'm only tiring myself out."

"Trucks can be like that, but once you know how to handle them, then you can handle them just as well as an experienced engine."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course, tell you what, why don't I give you a lending buffer in shunting these trucks."

"I would like that, thank you."

And so, Thomas began to shunt the trucks, until they were rearranged into a proper line.

"Whew!" Thomas gasped, "that was hard. Well hopefully you won't have any problems with them now."

The yard foreman then came up, "Thomas, can you take a goods train to Edward's branch line, Diesel was suppose to collect them, but he's broken down."

"We'll be glad to take the train," said Thomas' Driver.

"Bother that Diesel," Thomas groaned, "he's always breaking down on purpose, just to get out of working. Remember this, being lazy doesn't pay off, it's only going to cause trouble."

"I'll remember that," smiled Dennis, "thank you again, Thomas."

Thomas gave a cheerful blow of his whistle, then he puffed away to take the goods train.

Dennis was then told to take the train of trucks to the school, as they needed the new roofing tiles to mend the roof. However, there was a problem, Dennis didn't want to take the train, he was being lazy and refusing to go.

"Come on Dennis," called his Driver, "it's not like hard work is going to make you break down."

Still Dennis didn't move, then he noticed Thomas coming back, light engine.

This gave him an idea, "maybe Thomas can help me again, he could take my train while I relax," he thought happily to himself.

Thomas slowed till he was close to Dennis, "what are you doing here? I thought you would've been on your way by now."

"I would," moaned Dennis, "except I don't know where to go."

"Don't worry yourself anymore," Thomas smiled, "we'll show you the way to where you need to go. Right, Driver?"

"Of course we can," said Thomas' Driver, "we've been assigned to help you after all."

Dennis smiled, his trick was working perfectly.

Thomas and Dennis ran side by side till they reached a junction, "you'll have to go on ahead without us," Thomas said to Dennis, "our line doesn't go along your route, but don't worry, we'll catch up with you in a short while."

"Just keep puffing ahead," called Thomas' Driver.

Thomas then puffed off to find the other line, but Dennis didn't move.

"What's wrong with you now?" his Driver asked.

"Engine trouble," Dennis groaned, "it's failed."

"You seem fine to me, now will you stop playing your lazy games and get moving again? These tiles are needed right away!"

But Dennis was still refusing to do his work, he only wanted to get away from his job. As his Driver was climbing back into the cab, Dennis shook voilently, until his Driver banged aganist the lever and Dennis started to roll away.

Dennis was pleased, he was finally getting away from his work, "let that silly Thomas collect the train, I want to rest."

Dennis' hopes of resting were soon to come to an end, as he came to a sharp bend in the tracks. Dennis' Driver saw this and tried to stop, but Dennis wouldn't. The Driver jumped clear as Dennis went crashing into the muddy field.

"Oh my," he groaned.

"Now you've done it you silly engine," groaned his Driver, "why can't you behave yourself?"

Dennis didn't say anything, he just wailed while black smoke poured out from his engine.

When Dennis never showed up at the site, Thomas and his crew puffed back to find him. They were shocked to find him in a muddy ditch.

"What happened to you?" Thomas asked, "and where are the trucks?"

Dennis' Driver walked up to the cab, "it's all Dennis' fault, he wanted to get away from his work," then he explained how they got into this mess.

When he finished explaining, Thomas looked over to Dennis with an angry look upon his face, "and here I thought Daisy was lazy, but you really bring out the true meaning of the word."

"I'm sorry," Dennis groaned, "it's an old habit of mine."

"Well, thanks to your stupid old habit, you're now stuck and those trucks are late getting to the site," said his Driver angerily.

Dennis knew his Driver was right, but there was nothing he could do. Thomas kindly offered to help tow Dennis back onto the tracks, then push him to the school house.

They were late arriving there, but the workmen were pleased to get the tiles. The Fat Controller was also there, he didn't look too happy.

"I heard what you did, Dennis," he said sternly, "I'm only giving you a fair warning here and now, if you continue with your lazy attitude, then I will send you away."

Dennis felt ashamed, "I'm sorry about what happened sir, but if you just give me some time, I'll be a good engine and a hard working one."

"Very well," smiled the Fat Controller, "do your best Dennis."

Dennis was true to his word, and soon passed his trail runs. He was soon sent to work with Duck and Oliver on the Little Western, and all three work happily together. And although Dennis still has a bad reputation of laziness, he does try his best to be really useful, and maybe one day, he will get over his old habit. Only time will tell, am I right?


	63. Arthur and the Trucks

_**Arthur and the Trucks**_

_**Based on "The Spotless Record"**_

The fishing village was becoming a busy place, more and more fish would often have to be collected and taken to the docks, then the empty trucks would be taken back to the village to refilled. Most engines hate the smell of fish, and will complain bitterly about it.

The Fat Controller knew that his engines have their own jobs to do, and might not have the time to collect the fish, so he decided to bring a new engine to Sodor for the village alone.

One day at Maron station, Thomas and Percy were waiting for a clear path to the branch line, after dropping off some trucks for James and Duck to collect, when they heard the sounds of pistons pumping.

"I wonder who that is," said Percy's Driver.

The two engines and their crews were due to find out, as a big tank engine puffed up next to them. He was painted in tusken red, and had the letters 'L.M.S.' on the side of his bunker.

"Hello there," said the big tank engine, "I'm Arthur."

"Hello Arthur," said Thomas kindly, "welcome to Sodor. I'm Thomas, and this is my best friend Percy."

Just then, the Fat Controller arrived.

"Ah Arthur, you're right on time. Your former controller was right about you being on time, it's no wonder why you have that spotless record."

"What's a spotless record?" Percy asked.

"It just means that he's never been late before, nor has he been naughty, or ever made a mess," Thomas answered.

"Yes indeed," agreed Arthur, "that's actually what it means."

"Haven't you ever been in an accident before?" Percy asked.

"Nope," Arthur answered.

"Well, you better take it easy with the trucks," advised Thomas, "they can trouble for you, and they might ruin your spotless record."

"Thanks for the tip."

Arthur was soon working at the fishing village, he puffed to and from the docks, and as the Fat Controller had expected, Arthur was never late with his deliveries.

"I'm glad I bought him," smiled the Fat Controller, as he was looking over his paperwork.

One day, Arthur was at the docks, he had just delivered some fish and was now going to take some trucks full of fruit and vegatables to a station on the same route before returning to the fishing village.

Just before he could get coupled up, the trucks started making fun of him.

"We hope you can get us to the station before our load goes south," they giggled.

"How rude," said Arthur.

Thomas then pulled up, he had heard the truck's rude comments, "Arthur, if you want my tip, if the trucks start teasing you again, just tell them to be quiet, and if that doesn't work, bump them."

"Thank you Thomas, I will."

Arthur was soon coupled up to the vans, then he puffed away. Thomas was pleased, "I must be getting wiser with each day that passes," he chuckled to his Driver, "cause I'm sure Arthur won't have trouble with those vans."

"Let's hope so," his Driver said, "now come on, we need to collect our goods train."

As Arthur puffed along through the countryside, the trucks started teasing him again.

"Can't you go any faster, cause if not, then we'll rust before we get to the station."

"Shut up!" Arthur shouted, "anymore of this teasing and I'll bump you."

The trucks were cross, "you think you can teach us a lesson huh?" they asked, "we'll see about that.

Arthur's journey went well after that, as he puffed over bridges and through tunnels. Soon they were going down Gordon's hill, that's when the trucks started their tricks, "see if you stop us," they giggled, "on, on, on!"

"Stop, please, stop!" Arthur cried.

Arthur's driver tried everything he knew, but it was no good as the trucks pulled him along, and without a guard's van, Arthur was out of control. He flashed past Edward's station and soon came to a lonely signalbox.

Duck was waiting for a path to the Little Western, when Arthur came out of nowhere. He braked hard, but it was far too late as his trucks crashed into Duck's brake van with a loud crash. Fruit and vegatables flew everywhere, and covered everything in a sticky mess.

"What happened?" Duck cried.

Duck's guard, who jumped out before the crash, went to see what was wrong. He was stunned to see Arthur in the mess. Arthur was in more shock than anyone else, it was his first accident, which meant now that his spotless record was ruined.

Luckily, his crew were okay, a little shaken, but not hurt.

Duck's guard went to phone for help, and soon enough, Harvey and the breakdown train arrived. Thomas also came by to help, he had brought the Fat Controller with him.

"What happened here?" he asked.

"I'm sorry sir," Arthur groaned, "it's all my fault, I was trying to keep the trucks in order, but that didn't work, as you can see."

"Arthur," Thomas called, "it's not your fault, it's mine. I thought I knew how to keep those trucks in order, but I guess I didn't," he then explained about the advice that he gave earlier.

"I see," the Fat Controller said after a while, "well Thomas, I hope now you understand that even though you've been on Sodor for years, that you won't always know everything about the trucks."

"Yes sir," Thomas sighed, "and I'm sorry Arthur."

"That's okay," groaned the big tank engine.

"Now Thomas," said the Fat Controller, "I would like you to help clear away this mess and take Arthur back to Tidmouth later."

"Yes sir."

It took a long time to clear away the mess. Butch the Tow truck came to take away the broken vans that sat beside the line, while Harvey removed the broken line of trucks. Thomas and Duck then worked together to clear away the mess until they could get to Arthur.

The sun was going down by the time Thomas had towed Arthur back to Tidmouth. Duck took care of the rest of the trucks, while Thomas stayed with the big tusken red tank engine.

"Arthur, I hope you're not mad at me."

"No, I'm not. I guess this was bound to happen sooner or later."

"How long did you have your record?" he asked.

"Two years," Arthur groaned, "it'll take me a long time to get it back."

"Oh well," Thomas said, trying to lift Arthur's spirits up, "I'm share you will, cause maybe records were meant to be broken, and mended."

"Yes," Arthur agreed, "you are right Thomas."

Thomas smiled happily, then while the two engines waited for an avaiable spot at the washdown, they talked none-stop about their lines and the work they do.


	64. Sir Handel Returns

_**Sir Handel Returns**_

_**Based on "A Smooth Ride"**_

Workloads had increased on the Narrow Gauge Railway, which left the engines tired.

"I know it's a lot of hard work," said the Thin Controller one morning, "but I still require all of you to do your best."

It was then that Duncan spoke up, "Sir, I think I speak for all of us when I say - there's far too much work around here, even with Mighty Mac helping us."

"I have to agree with Duncan," agreed Peter Sam, "I think we need another engine on the line."

"Like maybe - Sir Handel," said Duke.

The engines looked at him in shock. Sir Handel has not been seen on the narrow guage railway for over a year, not after he had caused a serious accident that nearly damaged the Wharf. When the Thin Controller heard about the accident, he banished Sir Handel to the stone quarry to learn his lesson.

"I'm sorry Duke," said the Thin Controller, "but bringing Sir Handel back is not a good decision."

"We know how he can be," said Peter Sam, "after all, Granpuff and I did work with him before, but we do need the extra help around here, and Sir Handel may be the only engine available."

The Thin Controller looked at his little engines and sighed, "I'll see what I can do."

A few days later, the Thin Controller was waiting at the transfer yards, he was becoming anxious, "I sure hope Sir Handel doesn't cause us anymore trouble," he thought to himself.

Then he heard a whistle, and there came Sir Handel.

"Well Sir Handel," he said sternly, "it's been a whole year since I sent you to the stone quarry, I sure hope you've learned to behave yourself."

"Oh I have sir," said Sir Handel kindly, "I've learned my lesson, and I promise not to let you down."

"I'll believe that when I see that, now, I would like you to collect some apple trucks from the farm and bring them to the top station."

"Yes sir," and Sir Handel puffed away to collect his train. The Thin Controller watched him from the platform, it seemed like Sir Handel would have to do alot to earn back his respect and trust again.

Sir Handel soon arrived at the farm, and once his fireman had coupled him up, Sir Handel puffed away. He gave quite a smooth ride, and was very kind to the trucks.

"Quite smooth, he's changed for the better," they whispered to each other.

Soon enough, Sir Handel reached the bottom of a steep hill. As he started to go up the hill, he started shaking, his traction rods rattled and he slowed to a stop.

"What happened?" he asked.

His Driver got down to see what the problem was, "well it's happened again old boy," his Driver groaned, "it's that spring again, it popped out. We can try to fix it as best as we can."

Sir Handel groaned miserably. Just then, Peter Sam arrived, light engine, he was on his way to collect some trucks.

"What's wrong Sir Handel, why have you stopped?" he asked.

"It's a little problem I have going up hills," called Sir Handel, "it's a spring inside of me, it pops out everytime. Could you help me up?"

"Of course I will, if it's okay with my driver."

"It's okay with me," said Peter Sam's Driver, "just wait for us to be coupled on, then we'll push you up."

"Thank you, and please don't mention this to anyone," Sir Handel added.

Peter Sam and his crew promised. Once they were coupled up, they pushed Sir Handel slowly up the hill, then after reaching the top, and being uncoupled, Sir Handel puffed on to the station.

The Thin Controller was waiting there, he was surprised to see Sir Handel arrive on time.

"Very well done Sir Handel," smiled the Thin Controller, "you have done a good job so far. Now, I would like to collect the sheep from the farm and take them to the Wharf."

"Yes sir," said Sir Handel, but he was worried about his spring.

His crew worked hard to put the spring back in, then Sir Handel went to the farm to collect the sheep.

"Be careful with these sheep," said the farmer, "they need a smooth ride, not a bumpy ride."

"Not to worry sir, we'll take care," said Sir Handel as they puffed away.

Once again, all was going well, until Sir Handel reached the bottom of another steep hill. Just like before, he started shaking, his traction rods rattled and he slowed to another stop.

"You have to be kidding me," groaned the Driver, "it's that spring again. Now how are we..."

Before he could say another word, there came the sounds of another engine's whistle. It was Duncan, he was travelling light engine to the Wharf to collect a special train. Sir Handel told him why he was stuck, and just like Peter Sam, Duncan and his crew offered to help push Sir Handel up and over the hill.

When Sir Handel returned to the sheds that night, he found the Thin Controller waiting for him.

"Sir Handel, I am very pleased with the work you have done. Now tomorrow, you are to take myself, my wife and some important visitors to the top of Culdee Fell hill for a special picnic party."

"Yes sir," said Sir Handel, but he was still worried. He knew 'Culdee Fell hill' was one of the tallest and steepest hills on the railway, and he was also worried about the loose spring.

"I sure it doesn't come popping out again tomorrow," he thought unhappily to himself.

The next morning, Sir Handel collected the special train and puffed slowly towards the top of the hill.

"Take your time," called his Driver, "we don't you to wear yourself out before we get there."

"I'll be okay, I'll be okay," panted Sir Handel.

But he wasn't, just halfway up, his worst fears came into play. He started to shake voilently, his traction rods rattled so much that he almost came off, the passengers inside the coach had a rough and bumpy ride, then with a final shake, Sir Handel came to a stop.

The Thin Controller came out, he was looking very cross, "I should've known that you didn't learn anything in the stone quarry, you're just as rough as you ever were. Maybe I should've left you there, it's the place for all unruley and bumpy engines."

"Sir, it wasn't my fault, it's a spring inside of me. The first time it came out was during that accident near the Wharf." Sir Handel then explained everything about the accident, the spring, and the engines who helped him yesterday.

"I see," said the Thin Controller after a while, "thank you for telling me about this Sir Handel, but I can't have you bouncing around on my railway like that."

Sir Handel's Driver then came up, "I hate to tell you this, but that spring has popped out so badly that we can't put it back in."

"Sir," pleaded Sir Handel, "Don't send me back to the stone quarry."

The Thin Controller didn't say anything else to Sir Handel, he just went to a phone and called for help. Sir Handel was now worried about his future.

Rusty came to take the passengers, while Mighty Mac pushed Sir Handel to the transfer yards. When they arrived, they found the Thin Controller and another man standing on the platform.

"Sir Handel," said the Thin Controller, "do you know this man?"

"Yes I do," Sir Handel smiled, "he's the grandson of my original designer from the Falcon works."

"That's right," said the man, "and I also happen to be a repairman. When the Thin Controller called me and told me that you were in need of repairs, I rushed here as fast as I could. I've been hoping to see you return again Sir Handel."

"But not for long," he sighed unhappily, "especially after the Thin Controller sends away. I guess that's why Thomas is here."

"Actually, I'm here to collect some trucks from the Wharf," said Thomas.

"Sir Handel," said the Thin Controller, "it is quite clear to me that your time in the Stone Quarry has changed you into a better engine. So once you're repaired, I want you to take passengers into the mountains."

Sir Handel stared in amazement, "Sir, does this mean that..."

"Yes, you can stay."

This resulted in cheering from the crews, and whistling from Thomas, Mighty Mac and even Sir Handel.

Now Sir Handel is a happy engine, he is proud to be back on the railway, and once he was repaired, he never once made a mistake. He worked as hard as any other engine, but there was still alot for the nine engines to do. So the Thin Controller had to...but I mustn't say anymore, or I'll spoil the surprise.


	65. Just Being Percy

_**Just Being Percy**_

_**Based on "Being Percy"**_

Percy is a hard working little engine, he does any kind of job, goods or passengers, he can do it all. Despite all he does, Percy often feels like nobody pays any attention to him.

One morning, Percy was at the docks, he was collecting the post. He wanted to be earlier today, but he wasn't going to get his chances as Salty and Arthur were sitting in front of him, waiting for their next set of orders.

"Excuse me," Percy called, "I need to get going, please?"

But Arthur and Salty didn't move.

"Please move!" Percy cried.

"Just be patient Percy," said his Driver, "we've still got plenty of time to spare."

"I know," Percy groaned, "I just wanted to be earlier today."

Just then, they all heard a loud booming whistle coming into the docks. It was Gordon with the express, "out of the way!" he called, "express train coming through! I must not be late!"

James was near the ocean liner, he was waiting for his guard to blow his whistle when Gordon came up, "move aside little James, I need to collect my passengers!"

James' guard blew the whistle at that moment, and James grumbled angerily away.

"Hmm," poundered Percy, "Gordon seems to have no problems. Maybe it's because he's big, loud and strong. Maybe I should be like Gordon - starting right now."

He then shouted to his friends, "out of the way, post train coming through, I must not late!"

Arthur and Salty were surprised by this, "Percy matey, we haven't gotten our orders yet," called Salty.

"Too bad," Percy called, "I need to go, NOW!"

So, without waiting another second, Arthur and Salty were moved out of the way, and Percy set off for the open line.

Percy raced along through the countryside, a little faster than he ever had gone before, his Driver was finding it hard to keep him in control.

"Whoa Percy!" he cried, "what's gotten into you? Why are you racing like a rocket?"

"Must keep to time, must keep to time," he panted, "hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

Percy kept racing along, until he was slowed down, mostly cause Flora was up ahead of him. She was taking some trucks before returning to Great Waterton.

"Out of my way!" Percy cried again, "Post Train coming through!"

Flora was surprised to hear Percy shout like that, "I'm sorry Percy," she called, "but like many of the other tram engines, I can't go any faster."

"Hmm," Percy thought again, "I should try using a different line."

So once he reached the next junction, and Flora had gone past, his crew changed the points and Percy was switched to - Gordon's express line.

"This is better," said Percy happily, "hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"

"Slow it down!" cried his Driver and fireman.

Percy wouldn't listen, he raced along with flying wheels once more, "if only I could race Harold one more time," he chuckled to himself.

At Maithwaite Station, Percy raced through so fast that the stationmaster didn't have time to load the post, and Dennis was shaken awake.

"What? What? What was that?" he asked.

"I think it was Percy," said his Driver, "at least he did me a small favour in waking you up."

Dennis only grunted.

Percy continued on till he reached Maron Station to pick up some of the post, "we need to go back Percy," said his Driver, "I think we missed a station."

"Nonsense," said Percy, trying hard to sound like Gordon, "we didn't miss any station."

The Stationmaster quickly loaded up the post, but then there was trouble. Because Percy wanted to be like Gordon, and as important as the big blue engine, he puffed away before the last of the post could be loaded up.

"Come back here!" cried the stationmaster, "I'm not finished yet!"

But Percy didn't stop and go back, he just raced along the line. He continued to pound the rails, and flashed by stations, people and engines.

"Oh dear," groaned Edward when he saw Percy flash by, "this is going to result in trouble."

Edward was going to be proven quite right.

Percy was suppose to stop at Knapford staiton, but he raced right through, which shocked the Fat Controller, who was standing on the platform. His Driver tried to stop him, but Percy wouldn't stop.

To make matters worse, Gordon was coming back down the line with an empty express train.

"What?" Gordon was shocked to see Percy on his line, "go back Percy, I have an express train to pull, I must not be late!"

"You go back!" Percy cried, "I have a post train to pull! I must not be late!"

Neither engine would slow down, despite all their crews were doing. Soon however, they started to get scared, Percy especially.

"HELP!" he cried.

Luckily, a quick thinking signalman did, just in the nick of time. He switched Gordon off the express line and into a siding. Gordon's Driver applied the brakes, but Gordon rolled along until he ran into the buffers and ended up in a field. Luckily, Gordon's crew had jumped out of the cab before the crash.

"Oh the idignity," Gordon groaned.

"Oh my," gasped Percy.

The signalman phoned down the line, and soon, Edward arrived with Rocky.

"Goodness me," Edward's Driver gasped, "what a mess."

"Not to worry," said Rocky, "I can clean up this mess in no time."

"Good," grumbled Gordon.

So while Rocky was working to lift Gordon back to the rails, Edward decided to speak to Percy.

"I saw you racing past the station earlier, why were going so fast?" he asked.

Percy looked down to his buffers, and sighed deeply, "Well Edward, I wanted to be as loud, and as fast as Gordon. Nobody really pays any attention to me, I ask someone to move out of the way, they won't move," he sighed deeply, "I guess I'm not as good as Gordon, I'm like a ghost engine, always there, but nobody can see or hear me."

"Oh Percy," Edward said kindly, "you are not like a ghost engine, everyone knows you are there."

"Then why didn't they move out of my way?"

Just then, Arthur arrived with some loaded trucks, "I can answer why Salty and I didn't move," he said, "we were waiting for the dock yard master to give us our orders."

"Oh," Percy groaned, "I guess I made another big mistake again."

"Indeed you have," grumbled Gordon, but was quickly hushed by Rocky.

"Percy," Edward continued, "you don't need to be like Gordon, we all like you as you are. You are kind, helpful and quite a useful engine. As for Gordon, he is useful, but he can be a little strong headed at times."

Gordon only grunted as Rocky lifted him towards the rails.

"I guess I wasn't being Percy today, was I?"

"No, you weren't," said Arthur.

"Maybe it would be better for everyone if I be me, and not Gordon. I'll see you later Edward, I need to collect the post."

"I think that's a good idea," smiled the old engine.

With full control over Percy, his Driver was able to back him to all the stations and picked up the post. Then he went off to the big station to have the post unloaded by Tom Tipper the postman. The Fat Controller was waiting on the platform, he had heard everything. Percy explained to him about why he 'rushed' through stations, and what happened with Gordon.

"I'm really sorry sir," he groaned.

"It's okay Percy," said the Fat Controller kindly, "still though, I would prefer it if you were you. I already have one Gordon," he chuckled, "besides James and Henry do a good enough job of being like him."

Percy and his crew chuckled too, then Percy spoke up in a serious way, "I promise you sir that I will stay as me for now on."

"There's a good engine. Cause to all of us, you are the one and only Percy."

"Indeed," muttered Gordon, who was at another platform, but remained quiet for the rest of the day.

As for Percy, he was determined to stay the way he was. He didn't want to be Gordon anymore, he liked...just being Percy the Small Engine.


	66. Molly's Important Load

_**Molly's Important Load**_

_**Based on "Molly's Special Special"**_

Most recently, Thomas the Tank Engine had been at the works for an overhaul. He had now passed his tests and was on his way back to his branch line, light engine. The route went past the flour mill. When Thomas arrived at the mill, he was quite surprised to see a yellow engine standing close by with a line of trucks.

This engine was about the same length as James, and had the same wheel arrangement as Edward.

"Hello there," Thomas called kindly, "my name is Thomas, what's yours?"

"I'm Molly," said the engine quietly, "I work on the main line alot, but I mostly work here at the flour mill."

Thomas could see that Molly wasn't looking too happy, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Earlier today," Molly began, "I met another engine named Emily, she teased me because I'm working here at the flour mill and hauling empty trucks. She said that I wasn't being useful while working with these trucks that are needed at the coaling plant tonight."

Thomas chuckled quietly, "that Emily will say anything to make herself look more important," and he told Molly about the time that Emily went crashing into a muddy ditch with some flour trucks.

Still though, Molly didn't smile, she felt terrible. Thomas wanted to help her cheer up - that's when he noticed the tarpualins flapping up and down as the wind blew aganist them.

"I think I might know a way to stop all the teasing."

"How?" Molly asked.

While Molly was busy shunting her trucks into place, Thomas explained his plan to her and the two crews.

"If we cover up your trucks with the tarpaulins, then everyone will believe that you are carrying an important load tonight. That ought to make them stop teasing you."

"Do you really think it'll work?" Molly's Driver asked.

"I'm sure of it," Thomas smiled.

"I'm willing to give it a try," smiled Molly, "thanks for the great idea Thomas."

Thomas smiled happily, he was glad to see that he had really lifted Molly's spirits.

Before long, Thomas was allowed to continue on his way to his branch line. He was stopped at Maithwaite station for a clear signal through.

"Hello Thomas," called Emily from the other platform, "did you see that new engine yet?" she began to laugh, "I doubt she'll be useful if she remains on goods duties."

"I wouldn't be too quick to judge my dear Emily," Thomas chuckled, "if you're not careful, Molly might get you back by reminding you of your incident."

"She wouldn't..."

"She might, and she might say that when she passes through with her special."

"And what kind of special would that be?" Emily and her crew asked together.

"I can't say," Thomas chuckled as his Driver pulled the lever, "it's so important that nobody is allowed to know what it is. I heard it's an important load."

Thomas puffed away from the station, while Emily and her crew were left speechless.

Soon enough, Thomas was working hard with his coaches rolling behind him again. And, wherever he went that day, he told off the news about Molly's important load. Before long, everyone knew about it and were proud of Molly - well, all except for Gordon.

"It's not that special," he huffed, "otherwise the Fat Controller would've given the job to me."

"Says the engine who fell into a ditch to avoid pulling a goods train," huffed Thomas importantly.

Gordon grunted, he didn't like being reminded of that incident.

"Even so, I don't think it's as important as my express train, the grandest train on the Island!" Gordon huffed grandily.

"Oh, but Molly's special is far more important than your express train. And you'll see why when she's taking her load tonight!"

Then he thought to himself, "how can I make those empty trucks look as important as Gordon's express train?"

As the sun was going down for another day, Thomas and his crew were asked to take some empty trucks to the flour mill for Molly to take away later. However, they had to stop at Maithwaite to allow another goods train to overtake them.

While they waited, Thomas noticed the latterns being lit up, and this gave him another idea.

"Why don't we bring some latterns to Molly, she can use them to decorate her trucks and make them look important."

"That's a wonderful idea Thomas, you are one clever engine," Thomas' Driver then went to ask the stationmaster if they could borrow some latterns, who happily agreed. So once the latterns were in the trucks, and the line was clear, Thomas puffed off to find Molly.

Before long, the two engine's crews had all of her trucks decorated with the latterns.

"How do they look?" Molly asked.

"They look grand," smiled her Driver.

"Truely splendid," Thomas whispered happily to himself, he was quite sure now that his plan was going to work.

At long last, Molly was ready to go. As she and her crew didn't know the way to the coaling plant, Thomas and his crew were asked to go with her to show the way.

The journey was going smoothly, the latterns of Molly's trucks sparkled like the stars in the sky, it was a wonderful sight to see.

People waved and cheered for Molly as she puffed along.

Soon, the two engines reached Abbey Station where Percy, Emily and Gordon were waiting, they were waiting for clear paths to the yards.

"Oh my," Percy gasped, "she looks...she's..." Percy was at a loss of words.

Emily wasn't however, "she's beautiful and magnificent," she said, "maybe I was wrong to tease her before."

Gordon was also at a loss of words. And for the first time since she arrived, Molly felt like an important and special engine - but that wasn't going to last for long. A teasing wind came through and blew under one of the tarpualins and lifted it off and away out of sight.

"Oh no," Thomas groaned as he looked back to the trucks.

Everyone else was looking too, they didn't look too pleased.

"Those trucks are empty," Gordon cried, "they're not as important than my express train!"

Emily couldn't say anything, mostly cause she gone into giggle fits. Percy was upset, "why would you lie to us?"

Molly felt so foolish that as soon as the signal changed to green, she puffed away without Thomas. Thomas was surprised by this, but he knew why she would want to run away like that.

"I made her look foolish and now she probably hates me," he sighed unhappily.

"I wouldn't say that for sure Thomas," said his Driver, "you were only trying to help."

A few minutes later, the stationmaster came out with important news, "Molly has run out of coal near the Cronk signalbox, can you go help her?"

"She probably would like someone else to help her," Thomas groaned.

"Or maybe she wants you to help. Besides, it's always important to help others when they need help."

Thomas heartily agreed, and once Percy had puffed off to collect the post vans, Thomas puffed off to find Molly.

It didn't take him long to find her, poor Molly was left beside the signalbox with no fire in her boiler. Thomas pulled up alongside her and spoke up, "I'm sorry I made you look foolish back at Abbey, I didn't think that anything would go wrong with the plan."

"It's okay Thomas," she sighed, "I know you were only trying to help me, and I am happy that you did, but now I'm in trouble. With no more coal in my tender, I can't go anywhere. I'm sure to get into trouble with the Fat Controller, he might send me away."

"I doubt he would do that," Thomas smiled, "he brought you here for an important reason, and that's to be really useful and help with any kind of job. Now, why don't we get going, you can take some of my coal, and I'll be your banker to the coaling plant."

"Do you mean it?" Molly asked.

"Of course I do."

And that's just what Thomas did. Once his crew had given Molly some of his coal, and after being coupled up behind, the two engines puffed on to the coaling plant where lots of engines were waiting for them.

"Here I am," she called as the train arrived, "I've brought your empty trucks."

The engines there were happy to see Molly and her trucks, "we can't start our journeys without those trucks," said Edward.

"And I have to say that you made them look grander than ever," James added.

"I guess my trucks were important after all," Molly smiled happily, Thomas smiled from the far end of the train, he was happy for Molly.

"Molly," said Henry, "do you mind bringing more trucks for us? We need even more for our trains."

"I'll be happy to collect them for you, with a little help from Thomas of course."

Thomas and his crew happily agreed to help.

After taking on more coal, Molly and Thomas puffed off to the mill to collect more trucks and took them all to the coaling plant where the engines were waiting.

On the final journey to the coaling plant, they came across Gordon, who was looking cross.

"The shame of it all," he grumbled, "my express train being haulted by a couple of goods trains."

Molly couldn't help herself, "out of the way," she called, pretending to be like Gordon, "empty trucks coming through."

"Hurry, hurry, hurry," puffed Thomas cheekily.

Gordon's face went as red as the signal that had stopped him, while Thomas and Molly puffed away with their important loads. Maybe now Gordon and Emily will think twice before teasing Molly again.


	67. Girls Wanna Be Useful

_**Girls Wanna Be Useful**_

_**Based on "A Blooming Mess"**_

On the Island of Sodor, there are alot of engines. Most of these engines though are boy engines, but there are also some girls engines too. Such engines like Daisy the Diesel Rail-Car, Mavis the Quarry Diesel, Emily the Stirling Engine, Rosie the American Tank Engine, Molly the Flour Mill Engine, and then there's Flora the Tram Engine.

They are useful, although there are some engines who think they the girls of Sodor aren't as useful as they are.

During the summer season, the big station was going under a major overhaul of it's own. While some engines continued with their regular jobs, the others did what they could by bringing in the supplies needed for the overhaul. On the day of the grand re-opening of the station, the Fat Controller came to Tidmouth to speak to Emily.

"I would like you to collect the flower vans from Maithwaite station and bring them to the big station."

"Yes sir," but Emily looked worried, "what about my job at the Great Waterton yards?"

"There's no need to worry about that, the trucks don't need to be picked up till this afternoon, I'm sure you can get your work done before then."

"Of course sir," Emily smiled.

When the Fat Controller left, James chuckled quietly, Emily looked over to him with an eyebrow raised.

"And what's so funny?" she asked.

"I was just thinking to myself as to why the Fat Controller gave you the job of bringing flowers, then it just came to me - you're a girl."

"Nothing gets by you, does it James? Yes I'm a girl, and what's wrong with that?"

"Oh nothing," James continued to chuckle, "it's just that girl engines always get the smallest jobs that are best suited to their 'delicate' needs. Now, the bigger jobs, like pulling the express is best suited to the strong and mighty boy engines, like myself."

This made Emily very cross, but before she could say anymore, her Driver moved her away from the sheds, onto the turntable to be turned, then set off to Great Waterton.

"Bother that James," Emily groaned to herself, "just let him wait, I'll teach him to never tease us gals."

As she puffed along to Great Waterton, Emily started to feel better. She whistled cheerfully to all the engines she passed. Just as she was reaching Great Waterton, she could see Flora parked on a siding nearby.

"Hello Flora," Emily called, but Flora didn't answer, "Flora? Flora!" she cried again.

But Flora didn't answer, she remained stoney faced and quiet. Emily puffed away, wondering why Flora never said a word to her.

"Maybe she was teased earlier just because she's a girl. If that's true, then I must find a way to cheer her up."

As she came into the yards of Great Waterton, she could see Mavis dropping off some quarry trucks, while Molly and Rosie shunted some trucks through the sidings, and Daisy was collecting the passengers.

"That's it," Emily smiled, "if all the girls do all of Flora's jobs, then that might cheer her up, and teach whoever made fun of her a lesson of what we girls can do."

She then puffed over to where Mavis was, "Mavis, I just got a message from the Fat Controller, he wants you to help shunt the trucks here."

"Are you sure?" she asked, "cause I promised Toby that I would return as soon as I could."

"I'm quite sure, he said that Toby can handle the work alone."

And so, without questioning another word, Mavis purred into action and went to shunt the trucks. Emily then told Daisy to collect all some trucks before she went away.

"What? Me? I'm highly sprung!"

"I'm sorry Daisy, but it's the Fat Controller's orders."

Emily wasn't telling the truth of course, but she wanted to help Flora to cheer up. Then she told Rosie and Molly they had to shunt longer trains to take away later.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," said Molly, "they'll be impossible to move out of..."

"It's the Fat Controller's orders," Emily said sternly.

"I don't know where she heard that," her Driver said to the fireman, "but I'm not one to disobey orders."

"Me neither," the fireman agreed.

"Very well then," said Rosie, "it's kinda weird that he wouldn't tell us this himself, but...oh well!"

And so, the engines went to work. Emily was quite sure that this would make Flora proud.

Before long, Daisy had a long line of trucks behind her. She grumbled dreadfully as she pulled away with her mixed train. It was hard going to the top of the hill, Daisy could feel her strength going away with each passing second.

"Easy does it girl," said her Driver, "We don't want you overheating yourself!"

Too little too late, cause at that moment, Daisy blew a fuse and started to roll back down to the yards of Great Waterton. Molly was just about to pull out with her heavy train, when she saw Daisy coming towards her.

"Oh no!" she cried.

Emily was still shunting when she heard the loudest crash she could ever hear - Daisy and Molly's trains had crashed into each other, and poor Molly was knocked off the tracks. Then there came some loud hissing sounds from nearby, it was coming from Rosie, she had broken down.

"There are far too many trucks for me to take away," she groaned.

"Oh no," Emily groaned, "what next?"

She was due to find out, as Mavis came into view with some heavy trucks of her own. Her Driver applied the brakes, but Mavis couldn't stop and went crashing into Molly's brake van. The guard had jumped out before the crash, so he wasn't badly hurt.

He went to phone for help, and it soon arrived behind Edward, Rocky and Flora. They weren't alone, as the Fat Controller was standing in Edward's cab.

"Goodness me," he gasped, "what a mess!"

"What has happened to my yard?" Flora asked.

"That's what I would like to know," the Fat Controller said stently, "and why are you engines not back on your respective lines yet."

Emily piped up, "it's all my fault sir, I wanted to help cheer Flora up."

"Cheer me up?" Flora asked curiously.

"When I called out to you earlier, you never answered me. I thought it was because you were sad, maybe because someone teased you just because you're a girl."

Flora looked over to Emily and said in a calming way, "the reason I didn't say hello back to you was because I was thinking about all the work I have to do today. I guess I was focusing too much to notice you."

"Oh my," Emily groaned, then she looked at the mess, "and now thanks to me, the yard is a terrible mess. I'm sorry Flora, and you too sir."

"It's okay Emily, but now I would like to ask you to clear away the mess, while Mavis tows Daisy back to the branch line, they'll repair her fuse. Then Molly, once you're back on the rails, I want you to go to Knapford yards and collect the coaches for the stopping passenger train."

"Yes sir," said Molly, "but isn't that James' job?"

"Normally yes, but I've got him working on other work for his...er - rude words to a certain engine today," he then winked at Emily, then he looked back to Rosie, "I'll ask Stanley to tow you to the steamworks, then I want you to go back to the branch and help Daisy with her passenger runs."

"Yes sir," smiled Rosie.

And that's just what they did, and before long, Flora and Stanley's yards were spotless again and all the trucks were taken to their rightful destinations.

Emily went to Maithwaite to collect the vans, then after being coupled up, she puffed away with her special train. By the time she arrived, she was ten minutes late, but the workers didn't mind at all and thanked Emily instead.

And by nightfall, the station was finally reopened for business, it looked grand once more, especially with all the flowers.

"I can see some daisys," Daisy smiled happily to herself.

"It looks wonderful," Flora smiled.

"It does indeed," Emily smiled, "Still, I wonder what happened to James."

"Need you ask," Rosie asked in a cheeky way, "he's coming in right now."

James pulled into the station with loaded flour trucks. His shiny red paint was covered with white flour, which was probably why he was cross.

"Hello James," Emily called, "did you enjoy doing 'delicate' work today?"

James only grunted through gnashed teeth, while the girls and the rest of the engines laughed at Emily's joke, at least James was taught to never mistreat girls, or call them 'delicate' again.


	68. Too Noisy for Murdoch

_**Too Noisy for Murdoch**_

_**Based on "Peace and Quiet"**_

Goods traffic on the Island of Sodor was becoming a bit of a problem. There were so many trains for the engines to take away, that they felt like their boilers would burst. Tank Engines were tired of all the shunting, and the big engines moaned about the long goods trains they had to take.

"Lazy engines," called the trucks, "and here we thought you could handle us!"

"Shut up!" the engines always said angerily to the trucks.

It was quite clear to the Fat Controller that his railway needed another engine to help with goods traffic, and not just any engine - a really big and powerful engine.

After some time, he finally found the engine he was looking for. This one was a big engine, he had two front wheels and ten mighty driving wheels. He was also painted in orange and came complete with smoke deflectors.

"Welcome to our railway," the Fat Controller smiled, "tell me, what is your name?"

"Murdoch," answered the big engine.

"Ahoy there Murdoch!" called Salty.

"Welcome Murdoch," Harvey called.

"Now Murdoch," said the Fat Controller, "I would like you to collect some trucks and take them to the yards of the big station."

"Yes sir," said the big engine and puffed away.

Before long, Murdoch was coupled up to the train and was ready to go. The trucks tried hard to hold back, but soon found out that that was a big mistake - as Murdoch was much stronger than they thought.

Murdoch enjoyed his run, but he found that everywhere he went, it was too noisy for him. He longed for a rest in the engine shed.

Since he was too big for Tidmouth, he was assigned a spot at Knapford sheds instead, but no sooner had he puffed in, then Salty and Harvey started talking to him, they wanted to know more about him.

"How many trucks have you taken?" Salty asked.

"Over forty," groaned Murdoch.

"Have you ever crashed?" Harvey asked.

"No," Murdoch groaned again.

"Tell me, have you..."

"Please be quiet!" Murdoch snapped after a while, "I want some piece and quiet, I don't want to spend the night talking to a couple of chatter box engines, I've gotten enough of that today!"

"Sorry Murdoch," Harvey said quietly, "we were only being friendly."

"Aye indeed," Salty agreed.

"Well just keep it down!"

And that's what Salty and Harvey did, they said nothing more to Murdoch.

The next day, after being coupled up to another heavy train, Murdoch pulled away from the docks - and puffed into the beautiful countryside. His journey was a smooth one, and quiet too, apart from his pistons pumping, Murdoch began to enjoy himself - but not for long! As he came around a bend, he found a flock of sheep all over his line.

"Oh my," Murdoch gasped, "where did these things come from?"

"I think I know," the Driver groaned, "they've broken out of their field. How they did that, I just don't know."

"Well we can't sit here all day," said the fireman, "we better try to get these wooly pests off the tracks."

Murdoch's crew tried everything they knew, but it didn't work and before long, they were right back to where they started.

"That's torn it," Murdoch's Driver sighed, "we've tried everything, but these silly sheep still won't move out of our way."

"I'll go call for help," said the fireman.

The Driver agreed to stay with Murdoch and blow the whistle as a warning in case any other trains came into view. All Murdoch could do now was to sit there on the main line, and listening to the noisy sheep getting louder by the second.

The Fat Controller was sitting in his office, he was doing some paperwork when he got the call, "what was that? Sheep are blocking your line? It's as if we didn't have enough problems with animals in the past," he then checked his timetable, "Toby is at the nearby station, I'll phone the stationmaster and inform Toby to bring the farmer to where you are."

And that's just what he did.

Murdoch waited and waited, his train was now five minutes late, and the sheep wouldn't leave him alone, no matter how many times he told them to be quiet and go away.

"I'd rather be back at the sheds with Harvey and Salty," he thought to himself, "they weren't as loud as these silly sheep."

At last, Toby and the farmer arrived.

"Don't worry Murdoch," the farmer called, "we'll soon have these sheep out of the way."

Murdoch watched as the farmer and his sheep dog went to work - and before long, they had all the sheep back in the field, and while Toby's crew and the farmer went to work in repairing the fence, Murdoch set out on his way, thanking Toby and the farmer as he passed.

And as he continued with his work that day, Murdoch thought long and hard about what he said the night before.

When he returned to Knapford sheds, Salty and Harvey remained silent. Murdoch was the one who broke the silence, "I'm sorry I snapped at you last night, you were only trying to be friendly and I had the nerve to snap."

"It's okay Murdoch," said Harvey kindly.

"I do long for peace and quiet, but after dealing with those rotten sheep today, I'd prefer to hear you two talk than to hear them go 'baa'! I'm actually quite pleased to be sharing a shed with good friends like you two."

"Thank you Murdoch," Harvey smiled.

"Aye, thank ye," said Salty, "you know, this little moment reminds me of a story..."

Murdoch just smiled, instead of hearing noisy animals that would keep him up all night, Murdoch would go to sleep as he listened to one of Salty's sea tales. I doubt he'll be complaining about peace and quiet now, don't you think so?


	69. Thomas and Percy's Funnel Trouble

_**Thomas & Percy's Funnel Trouble**_

_**Based on "Slippy Sodor" and "Funnel Trouble"**_

One day, Percy the Small Engine was in the Sodor Steamworks. The trucks had been naughty to him and caused him to crash. Victor and the workmen had done alot of work into repairing Percy and now he was nearly completed, all that was needed was a new funnel.

"Don't look so upset Percy my friend," Victor said in a soothing way, "you'll soon be out and about again, as soon as we give you your new funnel. Kevin! - Could you bring out a new funnel for Percy?"

"Yes boss, right away boss!" Kevin rattled over to the front of the shop with the new funnel, only to drop it - by accident! "Sorry boss, it's just a slip of a hook."

"One of these days we ought to fix that hook of yours," Victor muttered.

The workmen tried testing the funnel on top of Percy, but they found it was too small for him.

"This won't do at all," called one of the workmen, "this funnel is a little too short for Percy."

"Don't worry," Kevin called, "I'll go get another one!"

As he rushed off to the back of the shop, he knocked over some more equipment - by accident, "Goodness me Kevin, what are you doing back there?"

"Sorry boss!" Kevin called, "slip of the wheels and the hook!"

"Yes I know Kevin, I know."

Kevin returned moments later with another funnel, but they found it to be a little too tall for Percy. So Kevin went to the back again to get another funnel, but there was only one left. Kevin's operator got it hooked up to Kevin's hook and took it to the front.

"Try this one Percy!" Kevin cried as he ran up to the shop. He stopped beside Percy and dropped it - by accident again! "Opps, sorry about that, Percy, it was just..."

"A slip of a hook," Percy sighed, "I know, I know."

"At least it fits," smiled Victor, "and it's just the right size for you anyways."

Soon enough, Percy's crew arrived to get him fired up and take him back to the branch line, but there was a problem - Percy felt a little stuffed up. "My funnel makes me feel funny," he said to Victor.

"It shouldn't, it's a brand new funnel. Well, if it's causing you any trouble, come back here and we'll have a look at it."

"Sure Victor," Percy groaned as he puffed along.

And throughout the day, Percy moved around the yards in a sluggish way, he was having trouble just keeping his steam up and moving at a good pace. Thomas could see this and wasn't too impressed.

"Show a wheel Percy," he called, "we can't afford to have our work fall behind!"

"It's not my fault if I feel a little stuffy," he groaned as he shunted his trucks.

"You need to stop making excuses Percy," Thomas huffed angerily, "and try to do more than what you're doing now!"

Percy only huffed angerily, he wanted to blow steam in Thomas' face, but he couldn't. Then when the trucks started to tease him, Percy gave them such a rude bumping. He did his best that day and his crew cleaned him out as best as they could that night...

But Percy was still feeling stuffy the next morning, an inspector came to see what was wrong.

"I can't understand it myself," he said to the crew after a while, "I've checked him all over and yet he's still feeling stuffy."

"What do you suggest then?" Percy's Driver asked.

"Well, I think it would be best to keep Percy here and try to fix the problem. As for his work, Thomas will have to do it."

"What?" Thomas asked in complete shock, "but I have my own jobs to do as it is, I can't waste my time doing Percy's jobs."

"Sorry Thomas," said the inspector, "but you're the only other engine that doesn't have that much work to do, I would ask Daisy to do the work, but with her attitude, I doubt any of the work would be completed today."

"Bother," Thomas huffed.

Thomas huffed crossly over to the goods yard where Percy's trucks were all waiting for him. His crew had decided to allow Thomas a chance to pull a mixed train, that way they wouldn't be late collecting the passengers.

"Come on Thomas!" the trucks cried, "We haven't got all day you know!"

"Oh shut it you!" Thomas shouted angerily and gave the trucks a bump - a rather big bump! The trucks' cargo, which was barrels of special bubble fulid that is used by Mr. Bubbles the famous clown, spilled some of the liquid out of the barrels and onto the front of the trucks.

"That hurt!" the trucks groaned.

"Maybe now you'll learn to behave yourselves!"

"That's enough Thomas," his driver said firmly as the fireman got down to couple Thomas to the trucks, "you'll have to run in the middle of the train, there isn't any time to shunt the trucks behind you."

Thomas groaned loudly, "I only hope 'Arry and Bert don't see me, otherwise they'll be sure to make fun of me."

Once the trucks were coupled up, Thomas puffed off to collect Annie and Clarabel.

Thomas arrived with a minute to spare, the passengers boarded the train and Thomas departed when the guard blew his whistle. All was going well, until Thomas felt something cold and wet underneath his wheels.

"What is..." he began, suddenly without warning, Thomas' wheels spun in a frantic way. His traction rods couldn't take the strain for too long and snapped! Thomas' Driver heard the snap and applied Thomas' brakes as they reached the station.

"What happened?" the fireman asked.

The Driver went to check, he was in for a shock, "it's that special bubble liquid, some of it spilled out of the barrels, then onto the truck and spilled onto the rails."

The fireman looked at Thomas with a stern look, "gee, I wonder how that could've happened."

Thomas said nothing at all. His Driver went inside the station to phone for help...

Percy was sitting alone in the shed when he saw his crew come over to see him, "there's an emergency Percy," said his Driver, "Thomas is in trouble and we're needed to move him."

"I'll try my best," Percy said weakily.

"There's a good engine," his fireman smiled.

Percy was slow to start, but he continued on until he reached the station where Thomas and the passengers were waiting. At this time, Thomas' crew were placing sand on the rails and clearing the mess of bubble liquid from the wheels and off the truck.

"I'm sorry about all of this, Thomas," Mr. Bubbles was saying, "I should've checked to see if the lids were secured."

"No sir, it's not your fault, it's mine for bumping the trucks around."

At last, Percy was coupled up to the train, the passengers boarded, Thomas' crew stayed in the cab to keep their engine's brakes off, the guard blew his whistle and Percy started off with his long train.

It wasn't easy going, Percy felt like his boiler was going to burst.

"Easy does it Percy!" cried his Driver, "we don't need you putting yourself out of action again."

Percy knew his Driver was right, but he knew that he couldn't let the passengers down, so he struggled on - he soon felt a sharp pain in his funnel, then all of the sudden - something black and sooty flew out and into the air.

"What was that?" Thomas gasped.

"Not sure," his Driver was also in shock, "it's definetly bigger than a golden eagle!"

"Well," Percy's Driver chuckled, "would you believe it? With that thing gone, Percy's puffing on normally again."

Percy began to feel much better at once and poured on the speed to the last station of the line.

While Thomas was left there to be repaired, Percy took over Thomas' passenger runs while Rosie helped him with the goods work. And at the end of the day, the two engines met up at Ffarquhar station to watch Mr. Bubbles perform.

"I'm feeling better now Percy," said Thomas, "I'm sorry for getting so cross with you earlier."

"Don't worry about it Thomas," Percy smiled, "if it hadn't been for you, I would never have gotten that rubbish out of my funnel."

"If only you had your mishap earlier Thomas," Percy's Driver added, "then we wouldn't have had so much trouble."

"I guess so," Thomas smiled, then he had to ask, "what was that stuff that flew out of your funnel anyways?"

"I don't know, and who cares, as long as I can work again."

Thomas smiled in agreement.

The rubbish landed somewhat a distance away from the branch line and landed on the road. Butch the Tow Truck had to come and take it away to Whiff's rubbish dump. No one knows why the funnel was blocked in the first place, but it's like Percy said, it doesn't matter as long as he can work and Thomas can stick to pulling passenger trains.


	70. Don't Be So Impatient

_**Don't Be So Impatient**_

_**Based on "Thomas in Trouble (S11)"**_

One warm summer's day, Thomas and Emily were in the workshop sheds for their annual inspections. While they were away, their work was being done by the other engines. Emily however wanted to leave quickly.

"If that new steamworks was open, our inspections could be over and done with in less than a few minutes."

Thomas chuckled, "inspections take a lot longer than that Emily, but they could go on even longer if something is wrong with you."

"Maybe, but I just hate being away from my work you know."

"I know, oh do I know," he sighed, "I learned a long time ago that if you dash away from your inspection before it's complete, then you could run into trouble, would you like to hear about it?"

"Sure," Emily smiled, "I'm not going anywhere anyways."

Thomas chuckled and began to tell his story...

This story takes place shortly after Toby came to work on Thomas' branch line. With him running the trains, this meant that Thomas could be spared for an annual inspection.

The workers checked him over all morning, and so far everything seemed to be okay.

"We just need to do a few more tests, then you can go back to work," they said.

As Thomas waited for the next inspection, James came by with a flatbed full of paint barrels, he laughed when he saw Thomas.

"Oh look," he chuckled, "Really Useful Thomas has broken down."

"No I have not," Thomas said crossly, "I'm here for my annual inspection."

"Is that so?" James asked in a cheeky way, "tell me, how long have you been here?"

"Since early this morning."

"That just proves my point, you have broken down and now you have to stay here until you're repaired," James chuckled loudly as he puffed away to do his next job.

Thomas wanted to prove James wrong, so when his crew came by to see how he was doing, he lied to them.

"My inspection is done, we can go now."

"Very well then," smiled his Driver, "Good timing too, we need to take passengers back to our branch line."

Once his fire was lit, Thomas puffed away from the shops. The workmen were surprised and wondered why Thomas had left.

Thomas soon arrived at the big station, but as he waited, he began making some strange noises.

"What's that?" his Driver asked.

"It's nothing," Thomas smiled as he waited for the passengers to board, "I'm perfectly fine."

Somehow, Thomas' Driver and fireman were not convinced. At last, the guard's whistle blew and Thomas was ready to go back to the branch line. As he puffed along though, he continued to make the same strange sounds over and over again.

He continued puffing along, but as he did so, he began to feel sick in the boiler.

"I must keep going, I must keep going," he puffed to himself.

He soon puffed up to a junction. Toby and Henrietta came up on the other line, they were concerned when they heard Thomas' strange sound.

"Are you feeling okay Thomas?" Toby asked kindly.

"Not really," Thomas coughed, "but I'll manage."

At last, the signal dropped and Thomas was allowed to continue on to the branch line. Sadly, he wasn't going to make it to his line - he started blowing off black smoke in an alarming way, and he started to slow down.

"Something's definetly wrong with you Thomas," said his Driver, "we better get you off the main line and have a look at you."

They slowed to a stop, then the fireman changed the points. The Driver then eased Thomas slowly into the siding, but no sooner was he in the siding, then he broke down completely.

"Well, that was different," said the fireman.

"Yes indeed," said the Driver, "if you weren't feeling well Thomas, why did you tell us that you were ready?"

Thomas couldn't reply, he was too out of puff to say a single word. Just then, Gordon puffed on past with the express.

"What's wrong with you Little Thomas?" he asked.

"I've broken down," Thomas wheesed, "help me..."

"I can't, I have an express train to pull, but I'll get help for you at the next station."

Gordon was as good as his word. At the next station, he met up with James, who was on his way to collect coal trucks.

"So Thomas has broken huh?" James laughed, "I knew he had broken down."

"Still, we better go help him," said James' Driver, "I'll phone the Fat Controller and inform him of the situation, I'm sure he'll send someone else to collect the coal trucks."

Thomas was still waiting at the siding with his fire dropped, when he heard the sounds of an engine's whistle.

"Oh no," he groaned, "James will never let me hear the end of it now."

James puffed up alongside, he laughed when he saw Thomas, but to his relief, James stopped laughing a minute later, "oh well, it could happen to the best of us," he said kindly, "and I'm sorry that I made fun of you today."

"That's alright," Thomas wheesed, "can you take Annie and Clarabel back to my line? These passengers need to get to the junction soon."

James was delighted to help - he was switched over to the siding and buffered up to Annie and Clarabel.

"We'll call for someone else to come collect Thomas!" called James' Driver as they hurried to the junction.

So Thomas waited and waited, until he heard Henry's whistle in the distance. He had been called upon to collect Thomas. Once he was coupled up, Henry pulled Thomas back to the repair yards.

Thomas stayed in the repair yards for another couple of days, while Percy helped Toby on the branch line. Then when all the repairs were done, Thomas was allowed to go back to the branch line, feeling much better.

"And ever since that day, I haven't tried to leave an inspection before it's done," said Thomas as he finished his story.

Emily was quiet for a while, then she spoke up, "thank you for telling me that story Thomas, I guess it is foolish to leave too soon."

"You can say that again," Thomas chuckled, "of course I should've remembered that when I left my guard behind."

The two engines laughed until one of the workmen came up to see Emily, "everything is in order Emily, you can go back to work now."

"Thank you sir," then she called out to Thomas, "good luck with your final inspection!"

"Thank you Emily," Thomas smiled, he was glad to know that his own misadventure could teach another engine not to rush with something important like an annual inspection, it might do an engine a world of good to wait rather than break down, wouldn't you agree with me?


	71. Oliver the Early Bird

_**Oliver the Early Bird**_

_**Based on "The Early Bird"**_

The post train is an important train, for it carries letters and parcels all across the Island. Usually, the postal run is done by Thomas or Percy, but when one of the two engines is away or busy with other jobs, Oliver and Edward are given the chance to pull the train.

Early one morning, just as the sun was rising for another day, Oliver was puffing into the Great Waterton station with the last of the post. He was tired, but he felt very proud of the work he did.

"Good morning Oliver," called a voice from the sidings. Oliver looked and saw who it was...

"Hello Stanley, you're up early today."

"You know it," smiled the silver tank engine, "The Fat Controller has asked me to arrange a special train for Murdoch to collect later. I don't mind though, it gives me a chance to see the sunrise."

"It is a wonderful sight to see," Oliver sighed, "especially to an engine who pulls the post train. I can remember when I was first given this job, I was really nervous, and let me tell you that I made my fair share of mistakes."

"Really?" Stanley was surprised to hear this, "I thought you made a great discovery when you first took the post train."

"I did, but that was by accident. I'm talking about when the Fat Controller gave me the chance to take the post train when Thomas was out of action..." and this is what Oliver told.

Thomas was in the workshops for a while due to some cracked valves, so the Fat Controller decided to give Oliver another chance to pull the post train.

"Are you sure about this, sir?" Oliver asked.

"I'm sure," he smiled, "you might've crashed on your first run with the post train, but I'm sure that won't happen again."

"You'll be fine old boy," encouraged his Driver, "and with us encouraging you, we're sure that you'll do as good of a job as Thomas and Percy."

Just hearing that made Oliver feel better at once, "very well then," he smiled, "I'll do it!"

"That's a good engine," the Fat Controller smiled, "now, you'll be starting at five O'Clock tomorrow, so you better get plenty of sleep tonight. Percy will take care of the other post train."

"Yes sir," said Oliver.

Oliver worked hard all day alongside Duck and Donald, then after he returned to the Little Western on his final run of the day, he was brought into the sheds and went off to sleep, while his crew went off for home.

Early the next morning, Oliver arrived at the yards to collect the vans. Then once he collected the post, he puffed along the line to deliver the post to the proper destinations. All was going smoothly, well - sort of. At each destination, Oliver would blow off his whistle to get someone's attention. As a result of all that, he woke up alot of residents, but he didn't know that.

"What was that?" one of the residents asked.

"Who knows," yawned another, "just some early bird I guess."

Oliver didn't know about his mistake, he thought he was doing a good job. He was good with delivering the post, but when it came to keeping quiet - not so much.

"And here I was worrying about taking the train again," Oliver chuckled happily to himself, "that was silly of me."

And he blew his whistle loud and long, waking more people, engines and even waking Bertie the Bus at his depot.

"Oh," he groaned, "Who woke me up?"

At long last, he arrived at the big station, he was greeted by the Fat Controller, who was yawning very loudly and still wearing his pajama shirt.

"Oliver," he said firmly, "I've been getting lots of phone calls of a certain engine making too much noise, as they kindly put it, it was 'an early bird'. Now, I know Percy never blows off his whistle while taking the post, so that leaves only one engine..."

"I'm sorry sir," Oliver interupted, he knew that he was the engine at fault here, "I didn't know."

"Well, try and remember to be quiet," the Fat Controller then walked firmly away.

The next evening, Oliver was out and about with the post train, but he was worried that he might make another mistake. As he was waiting by a lonely signal for the early morning passenger train to pass, Percy pulled up alongside.

"I wish I knew how you handle the post train runs," Oliver was saying and he explained about the previous night.

"It's easier than you think Oliver," Percy smiled, "when you stop at a destination, there's no need to blow your whistle, they know that you are there. That's the way Thomas and I do it."

"And that works every time?"

"Everytime," Percy then had to chuckle, "except when one of the workers doze off, when that happens, our crew gets out and knocks on the door of wherever you are, that usually gets them up."

"Thanks for the tip Percy," Oliver smiled, he looked up to see that the line ahead was clear, "must go now, I'll see you in the morning."

"Oh Oliver," Percy chuckled as he rolled his eyes. Oliver chuckled quietly as he puffed off.

And needless to say, he did a fantastic job with delivering the post and not once did he wake anyone up. Besides the odd worker that was sleeping at their desk, but other than that, Oliver did as good of a job as Thomas and Percy did.

When his work was done, he puffed into the big station to find Thomas waiting close by.

"Well Oliver," he smiled, "I heard that you've been doing the post trains runs, what did you think of the run?"

"It was great," Oliver said as quietly as he could, "and quite easy now that I know what to do. I wonder if the Fat Controller will allow me to pull the post train again someday."

"Oh he will," said a familar voice, it was the Fat Controller, "I'm very proud of you Oliver, and because of that, I've decided to allow you to take the post train when there's too much for Thomas and Percy or when one of the engines is away. What do you think of that?"

"Well sir, I would like that."

"And ever since then, I've never once made any mistakes when pulling the post train," Oliver said as he was finishing his story.

"I'm glad to hear that you were able to make up for your mistakes," Stanley smiled, "and how you become one of the main engines to pull the post train. Tell me though, when other engines are called in to help, do you give them the same advice that Percy gave you?"

"I sure do," Oliver answered, "and I would remind them of one important tip."

"What's that then?"

"To not blow their whistles at the crack of dawn, otherwise they'll be getting an earful."

Oliver and Stanley laughed quietly until it was time for Oliver to leave. He said goodbye to Stanley, then he puffed away back to the yards of the Big Station.


	72. How To Cheer a Friend Up

_**How to Cheer a Friend Up**_

_**Based on "Happy Hiro"**_

Hiro is a loyal hard worker, either at his homeland, or when it comes to his annual visits to Sodor. He usually likes visiting Sodor, but this year, there was something different about Hiro.

Just a month after he returned for the summer trains, the engines could see that Hiro didn't look too happy.

Charlie tried to cheer him up with a joke, "hey Hiro, what has four legs, but can't go anywhere?"

"I don't know," said Hiro quietly.

"A table that's what," and Charlie and his crew laughed loud and long, but Hiro didn't laugh.

"It's a good joke Charlie," he said, "but I'm not in the mood to laugh at this time," and he puffed with a long goods train behind him.

"I wonder why Hiro is so upset," said Duck that night, "I've only been seeing a frown on his face everytime I see him."

"I know what you mean," said Neville, "I wonder what's going on with him..."

"It doesn't matter right now," Gordon grumbled loudly, "we have to keep to our timetables, stop gossiping!" And with that said, Gordon raced away with the express.

"Hiro's sad, and Gordon's mad," Neville sighed, "this is not good."

"I can agree with you there Neville," said Duck sadly.

When Gordon saw Hiro at the water tower, he blew steam into his face, "get back to work Hiro! Stop sitting around feeling sorry for yourself!"

"That wasn't nice of you Gordon," said his Driver, but still, Gordon just didn't care one bit. He had already been delayed twice this week and didn't want to be late again.

"He's just feeling sorry for himself," he grumbled to the other engines later that night, "he has more work than the rest of us, hence why he's miserable. I should know through experience."

"I don't think that's it," said Thomas as he was visiting the big engine sheds, "I think it might be..."

"It's self pity and that's final!" interupted Gordon.

Thomas knows more about Hiro than Gordon does, considering that it was Thomas that saved Hiro a couple years ago, but Gordon, being who he was, thought he knew best and was not afraid to prove his point.

Once again the next day, Gordon puffed past Hiro and blew steam at him.

"Why are you doing that?" Hiro asked.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get back to work!"

Hiro was shocked by what he heard, "but I'm not..."

But Gordon was already out of sight. Thomas could see all of this from the platform as he waited for the passengers to board.

"Poor Hiro," he thought to himself, "I think I know why he's so upset, he told me this once before."

He wanted to talk to Hiro, but his guard had blown his whistle and he had to puff back to the branch line. As he passed by, he whistled with a soft 'peep-peep' to Hiro. Hiro blew a friendly whistle back to Thomas, then he went back to work.

That night, Hiro was visiting Tidmouth sheds, he was having a small chat with Edward, Donald and Duck, just as Gordon came puffing into his engine berth. He had been delayed because of a diesel from the Other Railway and by some new signalmen, and was now in a foul mood.

"Hiro, will you please go away!" Gordon snapped, "I don't need to hear how miserable you are!"

"What?" Hiro raised an eyebrow to Gordon.

"Gordon, there's no need to be rude to Hiro," said Duck firmly.

"I don't want to hear how miserable Hiro feels just because he has more jobs than the rest of us do. It's the only reason why he's been miserable."

"Not true," said Hiro, "the reason I'm miserable is because..."

"You have too many jobs," Gordon interupted again, "you can't lie to an engine like myself, an engine who..."

Hiro blew off his whistle loud and long in an angry way, "BE QUIET!" he shouted.

The sheds and the yards went quiet after hearing Hiro's little outburst, "now listen to me Gordon, the reason I am miserable isn't because I have more jobs than you. It's because I miss my home!"

There was silence after Hiro spoke, for a while anyways.

"Aye, home sickness," said Donald, "I knaw the feelin' all too well, and so does Douggie, ya like workin' here, but ye long for yer home."

"Yes," Hiro said in agreement.

"You see Gordon," said Edward, "you shouldn't be jumping to conculsions, it might be true with you, Henry and James, but it's not the same with engines like Hiro, Donald or even myself."

Gordon was silent, he was still upset about being late with the express today, but felt it was best not to say anything to upset Hiro again.

Meanwhile, Thomas was at the Big Station with the last passenger train of the day, he was also talking to the Fat Controller, who was making sure everything was running to time and was now having a talk with Thomas.

"I can understand how you feel about Hiro," the Fat Controller was saying, "but I send him back just yet."

"I understand completely sir," said Thomas, "but what if you send Hiro to a place that's like his homeland. Maybe - Misty Island perhaps."

The Fat Controller pondered for a moment, "Well, the logging locos have been saying that they do need some help with bringing the Jobi Wood to Sodor - I don't see why not."

And so, he put his plan into motion. The following morning, Hiro was asked to collect logs from Misty Island. When he arrived outside of the Hallow Tree Tunnel, his Driver slowed him down. As he did so, Hiro could hear birds chirpping away.

"Ah, it's peaceful," Hiro smiled.

Then, he arrived at the logging station, he could see lots of logs everywhere.

"Hello Hiro," called Ferdinand, "we're glad to see you, there's a lot of Jobi Wood that needs to be taken back to Sodor."

Hiro sighed happily, "Jobi Wood, it's just home," he smiled as he waited for the logs to be coupled up.

Once he was coupled up to his trucks, Hiro puffed along through the forest. He could see lots of Jobi Trees everywhere, "how wonderful," Hiro smiled again.

"I think our old boy is starting to cheer up again," his Driver smiled.

Soon, Hiro came to the top of a hill, his Driver stopped the train so that they could check the brakes on the trucks. During their little stop, Hiro looked beyond the hill, he could see the ocean.

"This view reminds me of the hills back home," he thought happily to himself.

And for the first time since he came back to Sodor, Hiro didn't feel homesick anymore, he felt very, very happy.

When he returned to the yards of the big station, he was all smiles.

"Did you enjoy your visit to Misty Island?" the Fat Controller asked kindly.

"Yes sir, I did sir. It was a wonderful trip - being on Misty Island remained me so much of my home."

"I know you miss your home Hiro, and you will be sent back after the summer season, but until then - how would you like to visit Misty Island a few times during the week."

"I would like that, thank you sir."

"Oh don't thank me, you should thank the engine who came up with the idea."

Hiro didn't even need to ask who this engine was, he knew it was Thomas, "bless the little engine," Hiro smiled, "always thinking of others, he is a true friend."

And as Gordon, he did calm down after a while and he did apologize to Hiro. And just the other day, Gordon admited that sometimes, he doesn't always know best, but if you see him, don't bother asking if he'll say that again, mostly because he won't. Same old Gordon.


	73. James the Important Engine

_**James the Important Engine**_

_**Based on "James Goes Too Far"**_

It was wintertime on Sodor, snow covered all the tracks and made work difficult. Thankfully though, the scottish twins were out and about every morning to keep the main lines and the branch lines open. There's also lots of work to do, which meant that some engines had to be assigned to help with either passenger runs or goods trains.

James was waiting at a signal one cold winter's day, he was taking the slow goods train. Percy came puffing up beside him with the post train.

"Hello James," Percy smiled, "how are you doing?"

Before James could reply, the signal dropped and Percy had to go, "bye-bye James, have a good day!"

"Have a good day he says," James grumbled sarcastically, "why does he get to go through first?"

"He's pulling the post train," his Driver called to him, "and post trains are more important than slow goods, you should know that by now." James only grumbled as he waited for his signal to change to green.

Later that day, he arrived at the water tower to take on water, but Thomas was in front of him.

"Sorry James," he called, "but I'm a guarnteed connection after all, I can't let my passengers down."

"And even Thomas gets to go first before me," he complained again, "it's not fair!"

"Quit complaining back there," Thomas chuckled, "my driver's almost done filling my tanks, I'll move out of the way soon, just be patient Bossy Boiler."

James didn't want to wait, he wanted an important job. Little did he know that he was going to get his chance soon enough...

The next day, the Fat Controller came to the sheds to speak to James.

"I need you to take a train load of coal trucks to all the stations across the Island," he said, "if the fires in the waiting rooms go out, the passengers will get cold and complain and we can't have that, it's a very important job."

"An important job?" James asked excitedly, "don't worry sir, I won't let you down."

"There's a good engine," he smiled, "do you best James."

He then got back into his car and drove away. Now normally, James doesn't like taking trucks, especially since he's had trouble with trucks in the past, but for a chance to pull an important train, he was willing to take them.

"I'm glad the Fat Controller didn't give me that job," Gordon sniffed loudly, "I hate to be given goods work."

"Oh really?" James teased, "cause from the look on your face, I swear that you're jealous that the Fat Controller gave the job to me."

"I am not jealous," Gordon huffed loudly, "it's only a load of coal."

"You're jealous," James teased, "I can tell."

And before Gordon could reply back, James had puffed away from the sheds. When he arrived at the water tower, his good mood was cut short as he saw a long cue there.

"Hurry up you lot," he grumbled, "I have to collect an important train!"

"We all have work to do too you know," grumbled Thomas, "now, why don't you be a good little engine and get to the back of the cue?"

"I will do no such thing," James grumbled loudly, "I have to collect that train as soon as possible, I can't wait around here all day. Let's go!"

"Alright then James," said his Driver, "we'll go, I'm sure we can stop at a water tower during our journey."

And so, James puffed off on his way.

He made good time as he made his way to the coaling plant. Along the way, he found Edward stranded on the main line.

"What's the matter with you?" James asked.

"I've run out of water, can you push me to the nearest water tower?"

"Sorry Edward," James said proudly, "but I need all the water I have, I have an important job and I cannot waste a minute here."

"But it'll only take a minute to..." but Edward couldn't finish, James was already puffing away.

"I'm not sure we should've done that," the Driver said to the fireman.

"I know what you mean, but you know James."

The Driver sadly agreed, both he and the fireman knew all about James' boastfulness and how it always comes back to bite him in the buffers soon enough.

James soon arrived at the coaling plant and was coupled up to his trucks. Then he steamed away with Duck calling out, "take care out there James, these trucks are not keen on carrying coal..."

Duck's advice was sadly drowned out by James' loud puffing.

"I guess he'll have to learn the hard way," Duck said to Douglas.

"Aye he will," agreed the scottish engine, "tis a pity really."

James was soon puffing along through the countryside with his coal trucks, he was having the time of his life and enjoyed his run, "I'm the most important engine on the Island," he cheered happily.

"That's what he thinks," the trucks whispered, "I think it's time to have some fun with Mr. Important, you know what to do!"

The trucks did too, "hold back! Hold back! Hold back!" they giggled in their silly way.

The trucks held back and made James puff slower and slower, "stupid trucks," he grumbled, "why can't they..." all of the sudden, James could feel himself getting hot in the boiler, "I feel sick," he cried to his crew.

His Driver applied the brakes and James came to a stop, stuck out on the main line. The trucks cheered for joy over their victory.

"You've run of water," his Driver called to him, "I knew we should've waited at the water tower..."

At that moment, Edward arrived with a passenger train.

"Please push me to a water tower," James demended loudly to Edward.

"I'm sorry James, but I'm running late with my passenger train as it is."

"We wouldn't be late if you had pushed us to a water tower," called Edward's Driver, "thank goodness that Donald was going our way, at least he helped us."

James felt terrible, "Don't worry," said Edward, "I'll inform the signalman at the next junction about you and ask him to send help."

And with that said, Edward puffed away, leaving James with a dreadful feeling in his boiler.

At the next signalbox, Edward told the signalman about James. The signalman phoned down the line and before long, Salty rolled up beside James.

"Lucky for you I was delivering oil," he said, "now what seems to be the trouble matey?"

"I'm out of water," James groaned, "no thanks to the trucks."

"It's your fault and you know it," said his Driver angerily, "we would've been fine if we waited at that water tower."

"I guess so," James said meekly.

"I heard that you didn't help Edward," Salty added.

"Well, I had to get my important train as soon as possible," protested James, "I can't let the Fat Controller or the passengers down."

"Maybe so," Salty said firmly, "but what about the other engines, it's not good to let them down either. Let me ask you, since you are stuck in the same predicament Edward was in, how would you feel if everyone ignored you and went about doing their work?"

"I...I...I would feel terrible," James sighed unhappily, "I get it now, I should've helped Edward."

"Now you get it," chuckled his Driver, "you always seem to learn a lesson after you get yourself into trouble."

"Don't worry yourself matey," Salty smiled, "I'll get you to a water tower, then you can continue with your work."

Salty was true to his word and before long, James was on his way. As he puffed along, he spotted Diesel on his line up ahead, he was blowing off black smoke out of his engine, he had broken down.

"So much for being reliable," James chuckled quietly to himself, but then he remembered Salty's words and what happened to him earlier that day, "we should help Diesel," he said to his crew, "after all, no job is more important than helping someone in need - even if it's Diesel."

"Right you are old boy," smiled his Driver.

They stopped James behind Diesel and spoke to the driver. Once all was arranged, James buffered up behind Diesel and pushed him all the way to the repair yards.

"First Toby, and now Diesel," James thought to himself, "am I becoming a rescue engine?"

It wasn't long before James got Diesel to the repair yards.

"Thank you James," Diesel said meekily.

"No problem Diesel," James called back, "I wish I could stay, but I have to go!"

James puffed along the main line, trying hard to make up for lost time. By nightfall, James had delivered all the coal to all the stations, which made the passengers very happy indeed.

The next morning, the Fat Controller came to speak to James, he had heard everything.

"I'm sorry sir," James said sadly, "I didn't help Edward, and I was late with some of my deliveries."

"But you did finish your deliveries and you helped Diesel too, I'm very proud of you for that. You have done me proud yesterday, which is why I am going to give you a chance to pull the express for an entire week, as long as you remember that it's not more important than the passengers or any engines you come across."

"I'll remember sir," James smiled.

"What about me sir?" Gordon asked, "what am I suppose to do?"

"You can do James' goods work," said the Fat Controller.

Gordon gasped in horror, he didn't like the sound of that. As for James though, he chuckled happily. He has since promised to never be impatient or think of himself as an important engine again, well - what do you think?


	74. Too Much Pride for Gordon

_**Too Much Pride for Gordon**_

_**Based on "Gordon and Ferdinand"**_

Ever since they first came to Sodor after Thomas met them, Bash, Dash and Ferdinand have been working hard to prove that they can be just as useful as the other engines, and despite a few minor problems they had at first, they did indeed prove their usefulness.

One morning, the logging locos were shunting some flatbeds full of Jobi logs into several sidings at the big station, when they saw the Fat Controller coming over towards them. They all stood in line like little soldier engines.

"I have been impressed with you three over the last year," the Fat Controller was saying, "you have learned our ways well, and you have all done such wonderful jobs. Since you have come a long way since you first came to Sodor, I have decided to reward all three of you with special jobs."

The engines and their crews were excited when they heard this, "thank you very much sir," said Bash.

"It's a great honor indeed," said Dash.

"That's right," said Ferdinand in his usual way.

"Bash and Dash," the Fat Controller continued as Gordon came into the station with the express, "I will give you two your rewards later on, but for now, I need you two to get back to your regular jobs."

"Yes sir," said the two engines and puffed away to do more work on Misty Island.

"Ferdinand, you're going to be the first to recieve your reward. You are to work on passenger runs with Gordon tomorrow."

Ferdinand gasped happily, "oh...thank you very much sir," he smiled.

Gordon heard and was gobsmacked, "Oh the Idgnity," he grumbled, "having to work with a silly logging engine, it's disgraceful!"

The next morning, Gordon and Ferdinand puffed over to the coach yards. Gordon was not in the best of moods, "buffer up to your coaches gently, don't bump them!"

Sadly, Gordon wasn't going to take his _own_ advice - he ended bumping into the coaches, which sent flying a short distance into the shed wall.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" cried the coaches.

"That's...not right," said Ferdinand.

Gordon felt foolish. Ferdinand's Driver backed him down slowly to his coaches, he buffered up to them nice and gently.

"Very smooth Ferdinand," said a yard worker, "for a first timer, you sure do know how to buffer up to coaches properly, unlike certain other engines I could mention."

Gordon was once again gobsmacked, while Ferdinand just smiled and blushed.

Gordon rolled smoothly into the station first, then Ferdinand followed afterwords. The passengers didn't pay any attention to Gordon, they were all looking at Ferdinand.

"Look at that," they said, "a rare climax engine with an original wooden cab, you don't many engines of his class nowadays. Where did they find you?"

"On Misty Island," Ferdinand answered, "I've worked there for quite a long time."

"What's your name?" one of the passengers asked.

"Ferdinand," he answered happily.

The passengers were indeed impressed and interested in this climax engine, but Gordon wasn't.

He was stoney faced and cross, "Why would they want to look at a silly engine like Ferdinand when there's a grand express engine like me around? It's disgusting!"

At last, the guard's whistles blew and the two engines were ready to go. Ferdinand puffed out of the station first, he puffed slowly and carefully as he didn't want to upset the passengers or coaches, "he's so gentle," the coaches said, "it's a pleasure to go out with him."

Gordon on the other hand wasn't so smooth when coming out of the station, he started with a roar and bumped his coaches.

"Careful Gordon," called his Driver, "you can't bump passengers, it'll upset them!"

But Gordon was in no mood to listen at all, he was cross at not being the centre of attention.

At Maron, people gathered by the dozens to see Ferdinand at the head of a passenger train, they even took his picture.

"Oh thank you, thank you," he blushed happily.

Gordon snorted loudly, nobody was paying any attention to him whatsoever.

Ferdinand was the first to leave first, he pulled smoothly out of the station with the coaches humming a little tune for him. When it came time for Gordon to leave, he started with a roar again - as a result of it, he broke the coupling for the last coach and left it behind.

"Oi You!" called the guard, "come back here!"

But Gordon didn't until they were stopped half a mile later by a signalman. Gordon reserved slowly down the line with the express and was coupled up to the brake coach. His driver made sure that he didn't bump the coaches again, but he couldn't stop Gordon from builidng up his speed.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" he panted as he pounded the rails.

"Take it easy Gordon," called the Driver, "there's plenty of time!"

But once again, Gordon wouldn't listen to his Driver, he just continued to pound the rails.

Ferdinand gave his passengers such a smooth ride, they were impressed - which is more than can be said for Gordon's passengers, they often bounced about like peas in a frying pan.

Gordon's mood didn't improve as he reached the finland route. Normally express trains don't take the finland route, due to the fact that the line isn't strong enough for heavy trains like him, but Gordon was in so much of a hurry that the shunter at the junction didn't have time to change him over to the express line.

"Stop Gordon," cried the coaches, "you've gone the wrong way."

"I did not," Gordon huffed crossly, "we're going the right way. I'll make it to the end of the line before Ferdinand and be gone for the next stage of the journey before he arrives."

He was soon to be proven wrong...

Ferdinand was puffing slowly on the Finland track, when he felt a small bump on the tracks.

"We should probably let the Fat Controller know about that bump," Ferdinand said to his Driver.

"Indeed," said his Driver, "I'll phone him when..."

He was then cut off by the sounds of a heavily loaded train coming down the line - it was Gordon! Ferdinand's Driver blasted the whistle loud and long, "Stop Gordon, there's a bump in the tracks!"

Gordon heard, but he didn't want to pay any attention to Ferdinand. His crew heard and applied the brakes as hard as they could, but it was too late to stop in time. Gordon bounced on the bumpy part of track and flew off of them - his crew jumped to safety as the tender coupling broke. Gordon flew off the finland track and landed with a loud thud in the muck below. The guard was able to break the coaches to a stop and went along the train to see if anyone was hurt.

No one was, except for Gordon, who sat in the muck.

"That's not right," said Ferdinand quietly.

Ferdinand had to continued on his way, but promised to get help. While they waited, Gordon's crew spoke angerily to their engine, "you silly great engine," they scolded, "you should've listened to Ferdinand."

Gordon remained quietly, except when he sank a little more into the muck.

Soon enough, Edward arrived with Rocky the Crane, but they weren't alone, "GORDON!" a familar person with a top hat climbed out from Edward's cab and looked down to the big doncaster engine, Gordon knew he was in trouble now.

"I've heard that you have been causing trouble today, you broke the last coach's coupling, raced too quickly past the junction and now you derailed yourself, why?"

"I...I..."

"It might have a lot to do with Ferdinand," said Gordon's Driver, "I bet Gordon was upset that you gave him the job of taking passengers."

The Fat Controller frowned as he looked down to Gordon, "I was hoping you had gotten over that old habit of yours," he sighed unhappily, "you did that when BoCo was given the express train that one time, then when Percy was given the passenger runs, and I seem to recall you behaving like this when you took your tumble off the branch line."

Gordon looked down to the muck ashamed.

"Once Rocky lifts you back to the rails, Edward can shunt you into a siding out of the way, and I'll arrange for Murdoch to take your passengers. Maybe sometime out of action will teach you to not misbehave."

"Yes sir," Gordon groaned sadly.

So it was arranged, once Rocky had lifted Gordon back onto the tracks, and he was coupled to his tender again, Edward shunted him into a siding out of the way. Then Edward took the coaches down the line for Murdoch to collect.

As for Ferdinand, he arrived at the last station of the line where the Sodor Railway meets up with the Other Railway. His passengers all thanked him for giving them a smooth ride and took more pictures of the climax engine.

"We'll be sure to tell all our friends about you," they said kindly.

Ferdinand smiled happily, and needless to say when Murdoch brought the express in, the express passengers all said they wished they rode with Ferdinand instead.

Gordon remained on that siding for three long days, he grew more and more miserable. Which is no wonder why he was happy to see Ferdinand arrive to tow him to the steamworks.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted, I was just upset that an engine like you got to take passengers and be the centre of attention."

"Ah that's okay Gordon," Ferdinand smiled, "at least nobody was hurt. I only hope that in future, you won't get mad when you see an engine like myself or even a goods engine pull a passenger train."

"I'll try, cause that would be dispicable," Gordon said quietly.

I hope Gordon has learned that lesson, don't you?


	75. A Feud Between Brothers

_**A Feud Between Brothers**_

_**Based on "Toby and Bash" and "Drip Tank"**_

Should you ever visit Misty Island and look to the logging station, you can find the logging loco twins, Bash and Dash working together. They hardly ever work apart from each other, except on a rare occasion. They are both quick and resourceful engines and a huge lifesaver for Ferdinand.

"With them around, I don't have to worry about falling behind with the workloads," he will often say proudly.

One day, Bash and Dash were doubleheading a special train from the logging station to the search and rescue centre where Hank was waiting to collect the trucks, and where the Fat Controller was waiting to speak with Bash.

"By the sounds of it," said Bash's Driver, "today might be the day where you get your reward for all the work you have done."

"I guess so," Bash smiled, then he looked back to his brother, "don't worry Dash, your turn will come soon."

"I'm not worried," he called back.

They soon reached the tunnel and that's when Bash noticed something - a piece of wood had come loose from the enterance of the tunnel and was now sticking out in front of them.

"STOP!" he cried to his Driver.

Bash's Driver slammed on the brakes as hard as he could, but the train wasn't going to be stopping anytime soon.

"OUCH!" cried Bash a moment later, the loose piece of wood hit his smokestack hard with a loud thud. The wood broke off and landed beside the line.

"What was that?" Dash's Driver asked.

Bash was a little battered from the bump, but he was cross, "what's the big idea pushing me into that piece of wood?" he snapped at Dash.

"I did no such thing. It was probably your own fault, you should keep a better look out."

The two little engines argued throughout the rest of the trip through the tunnel and even when they got into the daylight. They did stop when they saw the Fat Controller walking over towards them.

"Perfectly timing," he said, "Bash, your special job today is to work on Thomas' branch line, you'll be working with Toby."

"Thank you sir," said Bash, "Toby's a much better engine to work with than Dash."

Dash snorted crossly and puffed away to collect some empty flatbed trucks.

Bash enjoyed working with Toby, the old tram engine taught Bash all he needed to know and even gave him some advice on how to handle the trucks if they misbehave.

When Daisy saw Bash and Toby working together later that day, she said, "he sure is a fast learner, and that Toby sure is a good teacher."

Bash was happy to be useful, but he was still cross with Dash about the accident at the tunnel mouth. He would refuse to speak to Dash whenever he saw his brother and this went on for several days. It grew so bad between the two that Bash would often sleep in Toby's old shed at Aresdale End.

"I wonder what's gotten into the brothers," said Thomas, "I've never seen them like this before."

"Maybe something happened between the two engines and they blame each other for what happened," said Percy, "remember what happened with Donald and Douglas?"

"That could it Percy," agreed Toby.

Percy was of course right on the mark as Toby found out later that evening when he went to Aresdale End to spend the night with Bash. The little logging loco told Toby everything, and even told Flora who came by with some empty trucks.

Then he asked, "Do you either one of you know what a drip is?"

Flora thought about it for a second, "I think...it's when rain water comes through a hole in your cab and your Driver and fireman don't have time to mend it."

"That can't be right," said Bash looking confused, "cause earlier today I heard a little boy call his friend one."

"Oh well that's different," said Toby, "the little boy properly just thought that his friend was being a coward or silly or a spoiled sport."

Bash thought about it for a moment, he didn't even notice Dash coming over with some empty trucks. He was tired of his little argument with Bash and wanted to be friends again.

"So if," Bash said thoughtfully, "if someone blamed someone else for his own mistake, would he be a drip?"

"You're the drip!" Dash shouted so loudly that everyone looked back to the little logging loco, "I come all this way to talk to you and when I do, you start calling me names. Now why don't you just go to sleep and stop talking nonsense!"

Flora was about to speak up, but she didn't when she saw Toby look at her with a stern look on his face.

"Dash," Bash called, "do me a favour and...SHUT UP!"

Dash was cross with Bash that once he was uncoupled, he raced off back for the tunnel.

That night, Bash had a terrible time sleeping, he was missing his brother and felt terrible for calling him a 'drip' and telling him to 'shut up', but he was still cross about the accident and was determined to pay Dash out.

"I just don't know what to do," he sighed unhappily while he was still sleeping.

Toby stayed outside of the sheds to keep Bash company, he watched the little engine mutter in his sleep.

"This feud won't last forever," he thought to himself, "it's only a matter of time before he and Dash patch things up...just like other feuds before."

The next day, Dash was taking another load of Jobi logs to the search and rescue centre for Neville to collect. The journey was going well, but when he reached the halfway point of the tunnel, something hit the side of his water tank.

BANG!

"Ow!" Dash excalimed.

His Driver applied the brakes and the train came to a hault, he then grabbed his flashlight and shone down to where the bang came from, "I don't believe it," he said, "one of your siderods has damaged your water tanks."

"We'll never make it to the centre," said the fireman, "Dash's water level is running low."

"In that case," said the Driver, "I'll run the rest of the way to the centre and call for help."

And that's what he did, while the fireman dealt with the fire.

When the driver arrived, he could Bash shunting some trucks before he was due to go home.

"Thank goodness you're here Bash," said Dash's Driver, "Dash's water tanks have been damaged badly and we need you to pull him here." "I won't," Bash refused, "Dash called me a drip, he can stay in that tunnel and 'drip' himself for all I care."

"Oh really?" his own Driver called out, "what if it was you, would you like to stay in the tunnel on your own?"

Bash didn't say a single word for a while, he knew his Driver had a point.

"I wouldn't like it," he answered, "and I'm sure Dash doesn't like it either," he sighed as he looked to the tunnel, "I'll go in and get him - besides that, I miss him."

"That's my little engine," smiled his Driver.

Dash's Driver joined him in the cab, then Bash set off into the tunnel. He soon found Dash, feeling cold, lonely and miserable. They were soon coupled up, then Bash towed his brother out of the tunnel and into the daylight again.

"Thank you Bash," said Dash gratefully, "I guess my water tank did turn me into a drip."

"You're no drip," said Bash, "I'm sorry for calling you that. Could we be friends again please? I really missed you."

"Well I missed you too my brother, and yes we can be friends."

And with that said, Bash towed Dash off to the steamworks while Neville took the Jobi Logs.

When Toby heard, he smiled happily, "I knew it was only a matter of time before they patched things up," he said to Flora.

"How did you know that?"

"I've seen fueds like those occur in the past, sooner or later, the two engines usually patch things up and become good friends, although that happens after an accident as I've noticed and heard before," and on that note, Toby puffed away to collect Henrietta, leaving Flora in stunned silence and amazement.


	76. Belle's Whistle Trouble

_**Belle's Whistle Trouble**_

_**Based on "Emily and Dash" and "Whistle Trouble"**_

A few days after Dash's siderods damaged his water tanks, he puffed out of the Sodor Steamworks feeling much better than before, especially since he and Bash were able to patch things up.

"Thank you Victor," Dash smiled happily, "you and the workmen have done another fantastic job."

Victor smiled happily, "you're very welcome Dash, now you better get going, I hear the Fat Controller has got something special planned for you."

Dash's Driver opened the regulator, then Dash puffed off to the search and rescue centre.

The Fat Controller was there, he was talking with Belle the Fire fighting engine when Dash pulled up.

"Ah Dash," smiled the Fat Controller, "I'm so glad to see you here, I have some important news for you, for your reward, I would like you to join in on our steam festive in a few days."

"Really? Oh thank you sir," Dash smiled happily. He was so happy that he blew off his whistle loudly, but in a different way - it actually sounded like birds chirping.

"What was that?" Belle asked.

"Oh, that was my whistle, we logging locos can actually make our whistles sound like birds at times."

The Fat Controller was impressed, "I think our visitors will be impressed with that for sure. Oh and before I forget, on the day of the steam festive, I would like you to go to the vicarage and collect Trevor as he's a part of the show too."

"Yes sir," said Dash happily as he set off to collect some empty flatbeds for Misty Island.

Belle was so impressed by Dash's 'bird call' whistle that she wanted to try it out herself, but it wasn't going to work out as well as she hoped...

Whenever she was called upon for fire fighting or helping with goods trains, Belle would try to blow her whistle like Dash did, but everytime she did, she ended up making her whistle sound...well, different.

"Hey Belle," called Bertie from the level crossing, "is there something wrong with your whistle?"

"My whistle is just fine," she shouted angerily.

Then at another level crossing, she blew her whistle like Dash again, but made it sound like a loud screech, "Stop that nonsence!" Elizabeth called, "it's giving me a headache!"

Belle said nothing at all.

In the yards, as she was leaving with loaded trucks, she tried to do the 'bird call' whistle again, but ended up making it sound like a diesel horn that is cloaked.

"Faker!" shouted Diesel angerily, "you're not a diesel, you're just a silly steamer!"

"And you are a piece of rubbish on wheels!" Belle shouted back angerily.

Diesel heard nothing and rumbled away with his goods train.

That night, Belle's Driver and fireman checked over Belle's whistle, they had been wondering why the whistle sounded so different each time they blew it.

"I can't understand it myself," said the fireman, "it seems to be okay to me, nothing's broken."

"Do you think it has anything to do with Belle?" the Driver asked.

"I'm starting to think that it is because of Belle, we'll need to keep an eye on her over the next few days."

Over the next couple of days, Belle tried again and again to make the 'bird call' whistle, but it didn't work and everytime it was blown, it made the worst sounds Sodor could hear.

Then on the night before the festival, the crew spoke sternly to her.

"You have to stop messing around with your whistle," her Driver said sternly, "if you keep this up, you'll end up breaking it or losing it like that engine Duncan did."

"Besides that," grumbled the fireman, "you're giving me a headache, I've actually resorted myself to bringing in earmuffs to cover my ears."

"You better behave Belle," said her Driver firmly, "especially during the steam festival tomorrow."

After dropping the fire, and checking the whistle again, the two men set off for home. Belle was upset, "I'm not trying to break it, I'm only trying to make my whistle sound like a bird chirping."

Flynn could hear this from his berth of the shed, "maybe it's better if you stop trying," he said wisely, "if you don't, then you will end up in trouble. Most controllers are never happy with their engines when they fool around with their whistles."

But Belle wasn't paying any attention to Flynn, she was so determined to do the 'bird-call' whistle. It would've been best if she did stop trying...

The next morning, Belle was brought out bright and early to be polish and washed. As she waited for her crew to finish up, she watched Dash puff away to collect Trevor.

"Today is going to be the day," she thought happily to herself.

"Remember Belle," said her Driver, "Behave yourself!"

Belle heard, but she payed no attention to him. In fact, she was a hurry and wanted to leave quickly, the fireman hadn't had enough time to complete his inspection.

"I sure hope everything is okay," he sighed as they set off.

But everything was _not _okay at all. A small cab bolt was coming loose and the slightest jolt would make it pop out.

As Belle puffed along 'light engine' to the steam festival, she tried blowing the special whistle call at crossings and when she passed other engines.

"You might want to get Victor to have a look at your whistle," Henry called to her when she passed him.

"You sound sick Belle," Neville called from a siding, "you should probably take it easy."

Belle heard them and grew crosser and crosser, "I'll show them!" she said out loud. Then there was trouble - Belle was trying so hard to make her whistle sound like Dash's, that she wasn't paying any attention to the set of upcoming points.

"Slow down girl!" called her Driver and tried to slow her down.

Belle didn't so down at all - she ran over the points with a loud CLUNK! and within seconds, the cab bolt came loose, damaging her cab in the process. At last, her crew was able to stop her. They climbed down to take a look at the damage done.

"What in blazes happened?" Belle asked.

"You shook your cab bolt loose, that's what," grumbled the fireman, "I would've found the problem this morning if you didn't rush us."

"Sorry," Belle muttered quietly.

"There's no time to repair the bolt now," groaned the Driver, "we're late as it is already, maybe this will teach you something."

Belle was upset, but she didn't say anything back. The crew raised some more steam, then they set off for the steam festival.

At the festival itself, Trevor the Traction Engine was giving children rides with the wooden seat to his bunker, Harvey the Crane Engine was showing off his mighty crane arm, Charlie did demostrations of how tank engines work and even told jokes once and a while, but Dash was the main attraction there, besides showing how logging locos worked, he would blow off his special 'bird-call' whistle.

"That's amazing," said the visitors, they were impressed.

Then all of the sudden, they heard the strangest sound coming up to the steam festival sight, "Whatever is that noise?" Trevor asked, "it almost sounds like an engine trying to whistle, but it can't manage."

"It almost sounds like Belle," said Charlie.

And it was, the chain which worked her whistle kept catching with every rattle, giving off a faint 'peep' each time.

"It's not funny," Belle muttered crossly, "it's undignified!"

"As I said," said her Driver, "maybe this will teach you something, and I think that lesson should be to never make your whistle sound like Dash's 'bird-call' whistle."

Belle blushed into a shade of red. All day long, she tried hard not to whistle, but it _didn't_ work out as well as she hoped, for that cab of her's still rattled and as a result of it, she continued to whistle. It happened when she puffed back and forth for the visitors and even showed off her water cannons, needless to say, Belle was not amused.

She was relieved at the end of the day when her crew mended the cab and put in a new bolt, they didn't say a word about what happened.

Dash soon pulled up to the search and rescue centre to speak with Belle, "wasn't today a great day?" he asked Belle, "now I understand why the others like going to these special events. They really liked my 'bird-call' whistle, but I think they also enjoyed your whistling too. Trevor was telling me that as I took him back to the vicarge orchard."

"Well I didn't think it was fun at all - how do you do it? How can you make your whistle sound like a bird chirping?"

"Years of practise from both you and your crew. Is that how you broke your cab bolt?"

Belle didn't say anything. Dash respectfully puffed away without saying another word, and even promised himself not to mention it again to anyone. As for Belle herself, she also promised to never try the 'bird-call' whistle again and focus on her jobs instead.


	77. Billy, Henry and the Forest Animals

_**Billy, Henry and the Forest Animals**_

_**Based on "Percy's New Friends"**_

Henry the Big Green Engine loves his forest, he finds it quite peaceful and quiet, and the best part is all the animals he meets as he puffs along. Like the birds who fly beside him, or the cute little chipmunk that comes out to watch him pass, or even the white rabbit that bounces on his bufferbeam when he stops at the water tower near the wishing tree.

Even Murdoch found the forest to be a nice place to have some peace and quiet.

"You were right Henry," he whispered whenever they met, "that forest of yours is a wonderful place, thanks for telling me about it."

"No problem Murdoch," Henry called back.

One day, Henry was at the water tower near the wishing tree, the little white rabbit was having a little nap on his bufferbeam. The driver and fireman were careful not to wake him up.

"It's peaceful," Henry thought happily to himself.

All of the sudden, there came the loud sounds of engine's wheels pounding the rails, and an engine's whistle echoed throughout the forest. It woke the rabbit up, who jumped away in fright.

"Wait!" Henry cried, "Bother!"

Billy then puffed into view, "come on Henry, you don't have time to play with those silly creatures, you have work to do!"

Henry snorted crossly, he wanted to blow steam in Billy's face, but found that he couldn't without his Driver in the cab. Once Billy was out of sight, Henry's Driver climbed back into his cab, then the big green engine puffed off with his goods train.

"Silly Billy," Henry muttered crossly.

That night in the sheds, Billy was teasing Henry, "it's silly for an engine to be friends with animals, if anything, they should fear us. Henry shouldn't stop for them!"

Before Henry could retort, the engines heard someone come into the sheds, it was the Fat Controller.

"I've heard enough, Henry; you better not be slacking in your work just because of the animals, cause if you are..."

"Sir, begging your pardon," Henry interupted, "I'm not slacking, I was at the water tower getting my tender filled up. I can't help it if the animals come around to see me."

"I see, well - I don't see a problem here then..."

"But sir, engines can't be friends with animals," Billy said out loud, "Tell him Gordon!"

Gordon didn't say a word, he didn't want to get into trouble for nothing now.

The sheds went quiet until the Fat Controller spoke up, "I am going to need one of you to help repair some of the tracks through the forest, I've been recieving complaints that the tracks are woobly and unsafe," he paused and looked around, "I think Billy will be a perfect choice."

"Me?" Billy cried out, "but sir..."

"Don't argue," said the Fat Controller firmly, "you will do as you are told and that's that! I will assign Rosie to work with Charlie until the forest track work is complete."

And with that said, the Fat Controller walked away. Billy only groaned loudly, "forest work? I think the smelters would be better than a silly forest, and I'm a steam engine."

"You'll love the forest," said Henry crossly, "you just wait and see."

"And for the record," Duck called out, "some of us engines have animal friends, there's Dilly the duck that lives near one of the stations on my branch line, and there's also the wellsworth station cat, it's a good friend to everyone there, especially Edward and BoCo."

But Billy wasn't listening, he thought the idea of engines and animals being friends was stupid.

Early the next morning, Billy puffed out of the sheds bright and early to collect his trucks and a workmen's coach, then they set off for the forest. All the while, Billy kept saying, "engines and animals can't be friends, engines and animals can't be friends!"

And to prove his point further, when he came into the forest, he pounded the rails loud and long, and asked his Driver to blow his whistle.

"I feel I've made my point pretty clear," Billy chuckled lightly.

As the day wore on, whenever Billy worked in the forest, he would scare the animals so much that they didn't want to come near him. The birds wouldn't chirp, the chipmunk didn't come out of his home, and the rabbit didn't come to the water tower.

"Silly animals," Billy laughed loudly, "I knew they could never be our friends!"

"So," snickered one of the trucks, "our Silly Billy here doesn't like animals huh? Well, maybe we should help to change his point of view."

"Same old way?" one of the other trucks asked.

"You bet," it snickered.

And that's just what they did, they first held back on Billy, making him slow down to a crawl.

"Oh stupid trucks," Billy grumbled, "why can't they behave themselves for once? Come on you miserable lot!"

"With pleasure," they snickered, "you know the drill boys! On! On! On!" They surged into each other and pushed their weight aganist Billy's bunker.

Billy was taken off guard, "Stop it, cut it out!"

"No, no," the trucks giggled in their silly way, "push, push!"

Billy's Driver and fireman tried everything they could to stop their runaway engine, but nothing they tried worked. Poor Billy was still going much too fast and worst still, they were reaching a really bad section of track. The crew jumped out of the cab, while Billy rattled over the tracks and bounce off. Billy rolled along on the ground until he came to a stop near a tree.

"Oh," he groaned, "what just happened?"

The Driver and fireman went to check on their engine to see if he was hurt, then the fireman ran down the line to phone for help. He returned in a short while with bad news, "it's no good," he said, "Harvey is undergoing repairs at the steamworks, and there's no engine available to collect Rocky. Looks like we're going to be here for a while."

"Oh bother," groaned Billy while the trucks giggled in their stupid way, "this is all your fault!" But still the trucks laughed at Silly Billy.

The workmen's coach stayed on the rails, so they went on ahead to continue their work.

Billy had to stay where he was, he felt cold and lonely. And worse still, he got scared when he heard heavy goods trains or passenger trains roll by, he thought they were monsters until he saw them.

"Do those engines have to make such a noise?" Billy asked nervously.

"At least you know what the animals felt," said the Driver.

When he heard his Driver said that, he thought back to when he scared the animals, then remembered being scared himself by the goods and passenger trains that rolled by.

"They probably felt terrible," Billy said quietly, "and scared too. Maybe I shouldn't have scared them so badly."

"Well, now's your chance to make it up to them," said his Driver who started to whistle in a soft sweet way. The fireman joined in too, and before they knew it, the birds came flying towards them and land on Billy.

For once, the little orange tank engine didn't try to scare them, he remained quiet throughout that time. The cute chipmunk soon came out and sat on Billy's bufferbeam. Then the white rabbit came up and jumped onto his buffer beams.

"They are cute," Billy said with a whisper.

Billy and his crew spent some time with their new animal friends until Henry arrived with Rocky. Billy was almost sorry that he had to go.

"So Billy," Henry whispered, "Did you enjoy your day out with the animals?"

"I sure did," Billy answered quietly, "I guess engines and animals can be friends - I guess I was wrong all along."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Henry chuckled quietly and winked down to his animal friends.

Once Billy was on a flatbed, Henry took him to the steamworks, while Duck came to take the trucks away, now they were wishing they hadn't been so silly to Billy.

But you know what? Ever since that day, Billy has become somewhat of an animal lover. Whenever he passes the forest, he askes his Driver to slow him down and to not blow his whistle. And like Henry and Murdoch, when he stops by the water tower, he lets his animal friends rest on his buffer beams.

And just the other day, Billy thanked the trucks for their trick, "if you hadn't pushed me off the tracks, I would still be going on in the same old way, so thank you."

The trucks were confused, but said "You're welcome" to Billy. I guess it just goes to show that it's better to never judge something before you get to know it, why - even our Billy can agree to that. That shows you, doesn't it?


	78. Diesel Works Hard

_**Diesel Works Hard**_

_**Based on "Diesel's Special Delivery"**_

It was spring time on Sodor, but during this time, dark clouds hung over head, meaning that more rain was on it's way. Nobody really minded the rain as long as they were working, and that goes for both road and rail. The only one who was complaining bitterly was Diesel. He had been assigned with the job of taking Jack and the Pack to and from their construction site.

"What a meaning less job," Diesel grumbled.

"What's wrong with this fella?" Jack asked.

"Don't you know?" Alfie asked, "that's Devious Diesel, he complains about any amount of work he is given and he likes to cause trouble for our steam engine friends."

"I don't complain all the time," Diesel growled at the two machines.

"Yes you do," said his Driver, "you're just as lazy as Dennis - oh wait, I almost forgot, he does more than you do."

Jack and Alfie laughed at that joke, but Diesel only grunted under his breath.

He soon pulled up to Maithwaite station for an all clear signal up the line. James was already there with the stopping passenger train, lots of people were taking pictures of James, despite the rain.

"It's not fair," Diesel grunted again, "Why doesn't the Fat Controller give me any important jobs, or even passenger trains?"

"Well," James piped up looking thoughtful, "maybe it has a lot to do with the time you stole Gordon's coaches, no wait - maybe it has a lot to do with you breaking down at the quarry and Thomas had to bring you more diesel fuel."

"It wasn't my fault!" Diesel growled in protest.

"Or how about the time you told lies about Duck and called us big engines stupid names, like Rusty Red Scap Iron for example, or how about the time you pushed the trucks of china clay into the sea - or, how about the time you fell off the dockyards while trying to pull a long train..."

"Stop it! I don't need to be reminded of my past incidents."

"Face it Diesel, the Fat Controller will never chose you to do any special job or even pull passenger trains because you are too reckless and too devious, which makes me wonder why the Fat Controller bought you. My suggestion to you is to get used to being a shunter. Just don't lose your trucks like you did with the Jobi Wood," and once the guard's whistle blew, James puffed away, chortling at his own wit.

Diesel rumbled off in a few minutes, he was very cross.

"I'll show James that I'm not completely useless, still - I wonder why I was bought..."

Later that day, Diesel was shunting some trucks in the yards of Wellsworth when he saw Henry pass by with a goods train. His train was very long and by the looks of the length and the cargo inside, it looked very heavy.

A few minutes later, the stationmaster came out.

"Henry's stuck on the hill, where is Edward?"

"I think he's taking another goods train," said a yard worker, "so he probably won't be back for a while. Why don't you just send Diesel?"

The yard foreman wasn't so sure, he knew all about Devious Diesel. Normally, Diesel would grumble about helping a steamer, but in this case, it was a chance to show his usefulness.

"What are we waiting for?" he called, "let's get a move on!"

"Very well then," said the stationmaster, "go help Henry over the hill."

And with that confirmed, Diesel rumbled off to find Henry.

He soon found the big green engine at the bottom of the hill, panting loudly and complaining about being late with his train.

"I can't beleive they sent you," Henry called to Diesel at the back.

"It was either me or you would have to struggle up the hill on your own," Diesel then looked up, "and judging from the rain clouds above us, that would be difficult."

"Very well then," huffed Henry.

So with much huffing and pulling from Henry, and roaring and pushing from Diesel, the long train started it's way up the hill.

"Hold back!" shouted a truck, "we've got devious diesel on our buffers! Hold Back! Hold back!"

The trucks held back as much as they could, but Diesel was determined and not willing to give up. He revved his engine and pushed with every ounce of his strength.

"He's actually doing it," Henry thought to himself, "keep it up Diesel!" he shouted to the back.

Diesel couldn't reply back, but he did smile to himself, "this will show them all," he thought to himself.

Thanks to Diesel, he was finally able to get Henry and his train up and over the hill in record timing. Henry whistled a 'thank you' to Diesel, then he puffed away to where he needed to go.

"Not...bad," Diesel panted to himself.

"Well done Diesel," said his Driver, "I don't know what's gotten into you today, but I like this improvement."

Diesel only smirked to himself, "good, no more teasing from my driver, that's a start."

Later that evening, Diesel was taking Alfie and Jack back to their garages, when he spotted Rosie up ahead, she was leaking steam in an alarming way. Her Driver was waving a red flag to attract Diesel's attention. Diesel's Driver stopped the train beside the stranded train.

"I've broken down," Rosie cried, "I was suppose to take these trucks to the yards for Murdoch to take later."

"We'll take your train for you," Diesel piped up in an instant.

"Are you sure?" Rosie's Driver asked as he looked at Diesel's train, "cause from what I can see, you've already got a heavy load of your own to take. If you take our train, you'll only be adding more strain on your couplings."

"We'll be fine," Diesel growled with determination, "Don't you worry about that."

His Driver was unsure about Diesel's plan, but he agreed to give it a try.

Within minutes, Diesel had the trucks coupled up behind him, while he still had Jack and Alfie's flatbed in front of him. He revved and roared his engine into power as he started on his way.

"I never thought I'd say this," said Rosie, "good luck Diesel!"

Diesel responded with a blow of his horn and rumbled off into the distance. The journey was going well, until they reached a hill. The trucks saw a chance to play a trick on Diesel.

"Now!" they shouted, "hold back! Hold back!"

But like before, Diesel was determined and not willing to give up.

"I will not be delayed by the likes of you miserable lot!" he panted furiously, "I will show you just how useful I can be!"

The trucks heard, but they still held back, but their 'happy' moment didn't last for long when Diesel got the flatbeds, himself and Rosie's train over the top of the hill and down the other side.

"Impressive Diesel," said Jack.

"Maybe we were wrong about you all along," said Alfie.

Diesel smiled while his cheeks went red, "So far so good," he thought to himself, "at least I'm the laughing stock of the Fat Controller's fleet anymore, but still...why was I bought?"

He didn't have time to think of the answer, mostly cause he still had to continue onwards.

He arrived at the big station in record timing, Murdoch was surprised to see Diesel at first, but he did thank Diesel for bringing the train to him. Then after Diesel's Driver made a call for someone to get Rosie, Diesel set off to the garages with Jack and Alfie.

A little later, Diesel returned to the big station, only to find the stationmaster waiting up for him.

"Diesel, thank goodness you've come," he said, "the roof of the town hall is about ready to collapse, we need you to take the trucks of building materials there quickly before the roof falls in."

"Right away," Diesel said proudly and rumbled away.

He was soon coupled up to his trucks, then he set off for the town hall. The trucks held back on him again and tried to make him late, it was clear to see that they didn't care about the town hall, all that mattered to them was to make made Diesel cross.

"I will not be beaten by you litte buggers!" he shouted and revved his engine again.

It was difficult at times, especially when the trucks put their brakes on 'accidently on purpose', but Diesel continued on till he finally saw the station for the town hall come into view.

"Here...I...come!" Diesel growled and panted.

And with a final great effort, Diesel pulled up next to the platform. He was out of breath, but he wasn't cross, he was quite pleased to have done his job in record timing.

"Well done Diesel," said a familar voice, it was the Fat Controller. He wasn't alone as James was nearby with the stopping passenger train again, and he was in complete shock.

"Diesel - did..." James could hardly speak.

"I've heard about what you've been doing today," continued the Fat Controller, "and I have to say that I'm impressed with you. I only wish you could show that all the time."

"I'll try my best sir and thank you," then Diesel had to ask, "Sir, why did you buy me all those years ago?"

"I bought you for your strength, and for your usefulness," he answered, "why do you ask Diesel?"

"No reason sir," Diesel said quietly, "I was just being curious."

"Very well then. Now, I think you deserve a good rest, you've earned it."

And on that happy note, Diesel rumbled away, but not before getting a good look at James' face - James was still speechless.

"Guess I'm not completely useless huh James?" Diesel called as he rattled away.

James kept strangely quiet for some time afterwords, now he was regreting what he said to Diesel. As for Diesel himself, he still works hard like any good engine, but he still doesn't like working with the steam engines, I guess some things will never change about him.


	79. The Railway Bus

_**The Railway Bus**_

_**Based on "Stop That Bus!"**_

One of Thomas' loyal friends is a red bus named Bertie. Thomas first met Bertie all those years ago when they had their first race, and although they have their occasional arguments, they are still wonderful friends.

One day, Bertie was taking some visitors on a tour, the day had been grand for him so far and he was running to perfect timing.

"Hello slowpoke!" called a voice from nearby.

Bertie looked and saw who it was, it was Thomas with his two coaches, "I'll show you who's the slowpoke!" Bertie called with a chuckle and poured on the speed again.

"More speed Driver," Thomas chuckled.

The Driver opened the regulator and the fireman shovelled in more coal, and before long, Thomas and Bertie were racing to the next station. The passengers cheered on for the little red bus and the blue tank engine all the way.

They soon reached the station - at the same time.

"Whew!" Bertie gasped, "that was fun, although I'm feeling a little stiff."

"Maybe you're just getting past your pride," Thomas chuckled, "maybe they should retire you and get a railway bus to work in your place."

"A Railway bus?" Bertie was puzzled, "where did you hear such nonscene Thomas?"

"I heard about it from Neville just the other day, he said that he's seen buses that used to run on the railway tracks all those years ago. My Driver says there aren't many of those left."

"If there is any," Bertie chuckled, "well I love to stay and chat about your 'Railway Buses' Thomas, but I need to get going."

Once the last passenger had taken their seat, Bertie revved away down the road.

Bertie soon reached a level crossing, and that's when the trouble began, his engine faultered, chocked and stopped. His Driver got out to inspect it, "oh I don't believe it," he groaned, "you've broken down Bertie, we'll need another bus to take the passengers while we get you back to the garage."

The Driver got out his mobile phone and phoned for Butch to come collect Bertie, and asked if Algy, the other bus in the fleet, could come take the passengers.

"Run into a bit of trouble Bertie?" Algy asked when he arrived.

"Afraid so," Bertie sighed unhappily.

"Ah well, these things happen to the best of us. Now don't you worry about the passengers, I'll take them on the rest of their tour."

"Thank you Algy," Bertie sighed quietly.

Once the passengers were on board, Algy revved away down the road, just as Butch pulled up with a flatbed. Once all was ready, Butch's towline pulled Bertie onto the flatbed.

"Okay Butch," said his driver, "let's get going."

"Right," said Butch, he revved his engine and started off down the road.

Today however just didn't seem to be Bertie's day at all, as everyone was due to find out. Butch soon came to the bottom of a steep hill, then he poured on the power as he raced to the top.

"I wonder if those engines feel this way when they have to climb Gordon's hill," Butch thought to himself.

Bertie's Driver looked to see the chains holding Bertie to the flatbed straining under the weight.

"When was the last time you replaced those chains?" he asked Butch's Driver.

"I don't know, why?"

"I'm just wondering," said the Driver as he looked back, he was worried.

He had every right to worry, the chains were old and rusty - they groaned under the strain of Bertie's weight, and just before they reached the top of the hill - they snapped!

Bertie fell off Butch's flatbed, then rolled back down the hill, going faster and faster by the second.

"Help!" Bertie cried, "Runaway bus on the loose!"

Other motorists nearly crashed off the road when Bertie went flashing by, they honked their horns angerily at Bertie, but there was nothing Bertie could do. He rolled on down the hill, and then down the road and off of it too.

"Oh ouch!" Bertie cried as he bumped over bushes and then smashed through a fence. He rolled on until he got stuck in a muddy field.

Butch was turned around at the other end of the hill, then he raced back to find Bertie wheel deep in mud.

"Sorry Bertie," called Butch's driver, "it's my fault for not replacing those rusty old chains."

"That's okay," Bertie groaned, "but now how am I going to get out of this field. You can't bring Butch out here, he'll get stuck like me."

"Maybe so," said Bertie's Driver, "but I think I know who to call upon..."

Bertie waited for a long time, then he heard a familar whistle - it was Harvey the Crane Engine, he wasn't alone as he had Terence the Tractor on a flatbed and Rocky the Crane behind them.

"Hello Bertie," Terence called, then he had to chuckle, "I feel like I'm experiencing Deja Vu here."

"I know," Bertie groaned, "but can you please get me out of here?"

"Just give me a minute to get down from the flatbed," Terence's owner turned on the engine, then once the ramp was ready and Rocky was moved back a bit, Terence chugged down and over to the field. "We'll have you out in a jiffy."

Using strong cables, Terence tugged and revved with all the strength he had - then at last, Bertie was out of the muddy field. Then Harvey and Rocky went to work in lifting Bertie onto the flatbed.

"What aboutTerence though?" Bertie asked.

"Don't worry about me old friend, I'm not going to be waiting here for too long, BoCo will be coming by later to collect Rocky and myself."

Bertie then thanked Terence, Rocky and Harvey for coming to the rescue. Then once he was chained down with really strong chains, Harvey puffed off to the next station where Butch would be waiting for them.

"What a day," Bertie muttered to himself, "I hope Thomas doesn't find out about this."

Harvey soon arrived at the station, where Butch was waiting. Bertie was soon on Butch's flatbed, and this time he was tied down with really strong chains.

"Thanks for the help Harvey," called Butch.

"Ah well, what are friends for?" Harvey smiled happily.

A few days later, Bertie was back at work and taking the passengers to the station to catch Thomas' train. Thomas was waiting as Bertie arrived, he was smiling broadly today.

"What?" Bertie asked curiously.

"Oh nothing," Thomas giggled quietly, "do you remember that railway bus discussion we had before you broke down? Well, I recently heard about a new railway bus that looks so close to you and Algy."

Needless to say, Bertie was not amused, and has never joked 'Railway Buses', especially not in front of Thomas again.


	80. Gordon Goes Through the Wall

_**Gordon Goes Through the Wall**_

_**Based on "A Better View for Gordon"**_

"I've got some exciting news," Percy piped up one morning, "we're getting a brand new station! Driver got the news from the Fat Controller yesterday."

"What's the name of the new station?" James asked.

"Ah...you know what? I don't know," Percy said meekily, "I didn't ask."

"Yep that's our Percy," James chuckled, "never thinks before it's too late, which is no wonder why you've had more accidents than any of us."

Percy frowned angerily at James, "I do not!"

"Where is my Driver and fireman?" Gordon thought angerily to himself, "I want to get away from these chatter-boxes."

At last, Gordon's crew arrived and took him away to collect the express. Gordon worked his hardest all day long, but it seemed that today he wasn't working properly.

"I can't understand it," said the fireman, "Gordon's got plenty of steam, but he isn't running up to speed."

"That is strange," said the Driver, "we'll have a look at Gordon when we get back to the sheds and see if anything is wrong."

The crew didn't get the chance to check, for the Fat Controller was waiting there with an important job, "Gordon, I would like you to take some coaches to the new station to collect the workmen, the bus that was suppose to collect them has broken down."

"But why can't Henry or James do it? They like to idle in the stations, I want to rest."

"You will do as you are told Gordon, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," moaned Gordon as the crew moved him away from the sheds.

Gordon was soon on his way with the coaches, but as he puffed along, he began to feel sick to the boiler.

"What is wrong with me?" he moaned.

"I think it might be time to go to the works," called his Driver, "I think it has a lot to do with your pipes."

And so the crew brought Gordon's speed down as they approached the new station. Gordon was impressed by the size of it, but his mood changed as soon as he saw the wall beyond the buffers.

"This has got to be a joke," he grumbled, "I should have a panoramic view so I can see people and they can see me."

"Oh quit your complaing Gordon," said his Driver firmly, "I think the station looks fine."

Gordon didn't agree with his Driver, he hated the view of a blank wall. Once the workmen were on board, the guard blew his whistle and Gordon puffed off to get turned around and puff off to the big station.

The journey back however was proving to be a challenge for Gordon, he felt like his boiler would burst.

"I can't be sick, I'm one of the finest express engines of Sodor. I'm not sick!" but Gordon was soon to be proven wrong. Something cracked and his cab was engulfed in smoke and steam. Gordon slowed to a crawl, the driver blew the whistle to warn the signalman and he diverted Gordon into a siding.

"What happened?" Gordon asked feebily.

His Driver and fireman inspected Gordon, "yep it's just as we thought, it was your pipes, they were cloaked," said his Driver, "you won't be going anywhere for a while, at least not under your own power."

"I'll go call for help," said the fireman.

Gordon waited in the lonely siding for the works diesel to come collect him. As he waited, James came by to take the workmen to the big station.

"Run into a bit of trouble Gordon?" he teased.

"It's just my pipes," Gordon groaned, "they're cloaked and now I'm failed."

"Ah well don't worry about it, it can happen from time to time - still though, I'm happy it happened to you," James laughed.

Gordon sulked crossly.

A few months later, Gordon returned to the sheds, he was feeling quite proud, "The Fat Controller has chosen me to take him to the new staiton," he boasted to the others, "even though he'll be riding in my cab, it's still a grand job."

"There he goes again," James chuckled.

"It's no doubt going to end in tears," said Percy quietly.

"Is Gordon already to go?" the Fat Controller asked the crew.

"He certainly is sir," called the Driver, "all ready for the run to the new station."

With that confirmed, the Fat Controller boarded Gordon's cab and the big blue engine puffed away.

He was soon pounding the rails as he got closer and closer to the new station. His Driver went to apply the brakes, but there was a problem - although the handle moved, Gordon wouldn't slow down. He tried again and again, but Gordon still wouldn't slow down.

"Is there a problem driver?" the Fat Controller asked.

"There is," he answered, "sir, I suggest that you hang onto something, cause we're going to crash."

The Driver then tried to reduce steam, but Gordon was going much too fast to stop in time. He ran right threw the station...

"Oh no!"

And smashed right through the wall, "oh my," Gordon groaned. As luck would have it, the wall and a telephone poll kept Gordon from falling to the ground below.

An hour later, his crew and the Fat Controller came up to see him. His Driver had injuried his arm, which was now in a cast and the Fat Controller had a black eye.

"Well Gordon," said the Fat Controller, "I understand this accident wasn't your fault, so you're not to blame. But I have heard that you wanted a panormanic view - this little accident today is not the way to achieve it."

"Sorry sir," Gordon groaned quietly.

Gordon was soon back at the workshops and the workmen went back to work into repairing the station wall.

It was another month before Gordon was repaired. When he came out, he was asked to take the Fat Controller to the new station for a second official opening. Gordon arrived safely at the staiton, people clapped and cheered as he stopped.

Gordon then looked to the wall, there in front of him was a window that showed the entire town below, but what really surprised Gordon was the shape of the window, it was his own shape.

The Fat Controller stepped out of the coach and decleared the new station open. After that day, the station has become busier than ever with both branch line and main line trains coming in and out of the station. The engines enjoy their visit to the station, but none moreso than Gordon, who looks out the window everytime he comes to the station, he hopes to never repeat what happened that day, but is secretly pleased that he now has his panoramic view.

**Author's Note:**

This adaptation was inspired by the real life of a passenger train that would not stop. On January 24th 1948, Santa Fe's El Capitian train wouldn't stop (reasons are unknown) and crashed threw the bumper stop, rolled threw the parking lot and threw a wall. Thankfully the diesel stopped, hanging just above Aliso Street and being supported by a telephone pole and the wall too.


	81. The Rescue Engines

_**The Rescue Engines**_

_**Based on "James to the Rescue"**_

One evening at the big engine sheds, Gordon and James were having another argument and as you can guess, it had alot to do with how much work they do.

"Face it Gordon," James sniffed, "you don't enough work on the railway, you only pull the express."

"The five coach express to you," Gordon grumbled loudly, "and for your information, it's hard work to pull the grandest train on Sodor. You wouldn't know that because you do odd jobs on the railway."

"For the record Gordon, I have pulled express trains in the past, even after you were switched off the main line by mistake...so you say."

The arguing continued until Edward came puffing up to the sheds, "alright you two, there's no need to argue any longer," he said firmly, "you're both reliable and hard working engines."

Gordon and James quickly subsided into silence.

"Well Edward old boy," said his Driver, "that's another busy day done, you have done an excellent job."

"Especially when you helped Neville get over the hill after he failed," the fireman added as he dropped Edward's fire for the night, "I think the Fat Controller should make you Sodor's own search and rescue engine."

"Edward a rescue engine?" Gordon sniffed loudly as he broke his vow of silence, "I would be a much better rescue engine than he would."

"And I would be better than you!" James spoke up next.

"Oh really?" Gordon asked while raising an eyebrow, "why don't we have a little contest to prove who's better. First engine to help another engine in trouble tomorrow wins!"

"You're on!"

"Edward," Duck whispered to him, "aren't you going to put a stop to this?"

"Not this time," the old engine said as he looked over to the two big engines, "they don't usually listen to me when they start another argument, so it's better to let them learn how foolish this contest is for themselves."

The next morning, Gordon was puffing along with the express along the main line. He was thinking about the bet he and James made the night before, "I'll show him who's the best rescue engine on Sodor," he thought happily to himself, "a bigger engine is better anyways."

"Steady old boy, steady!" cautioned his Driver, "you don't want to give the passengers a rough ride would you?"

"Of course not," Gordon called out, "I don't want to make the same mistake as Henry did."

They made good timing until they reached the next station near the marshlands. The stationmaster was waiting out there for them, "Henry's come off the tracks at the marshlands," he said, "can you go help him get back on track?"

"Sorry but we can't," said Gordon's Driver, "we're busy with the express."

"Oh come on Driver," Gordon pleaded, "if an engine is in trouble, it's only fair that we go help them."

"Well - okay, we'll do it, but then we come back to get the passengers."

So the driver told the guard about the change of plans, then he informed the passengers, "Gordon's going off to help Henry on the marshlands, but don't you worry, he'll come back once he's done, you won't miss your train to the Other Railway."

With that confirmed, Gordon puffed off to find Henry.

The tracks at the marshlands weren't as strong as the tracks on the mainline, so Gordon had to puff slowly on the rickety old bridge. At last, he finally found Henry off the tracks.

"Run into a bit of trouble Henry?" Gordon asked.

"Yes," he groaned, "I think there's something wrong with this bridge cause I'm the third engine to come off here."

"It's not going to be easy getting Henry back on the tracks without a crane," said Gordon's Driver as he looked out at the derailed Henry, "but maybe if we put some railroad ties or rails under his wheels, we can use Gordon to push him back on track."

"Are you sure that will work?" the fireman asked.

"I'm hoping that it will."

So the two crews worked together and before long, they were ready.

"Alright Gordon," said his Driver, "We just need to give Henry a good push and he'll be back on track, but please be careful."

Gordon wasn't thinking about that, he was thinking about what he would say to James next time they met. In fact, he was focusing so much on his little talk with James that as soon as he started, he wasn't focusing on how fast he was going.

"Slow down Gordon! Slow down!" shouted his Driver, but Gordon didn't respond back.

Henry could hear Gordon coming and by the sounds of his pistons pumping, he was coming at a fast speed. He shut his eyes and awaited the bang from behind. Gordon bashed into Henry's tender with a dull thud - thanks to the ties and rails, Henry was soon back on track, but Gordon wasn't so lucky, he bounced off the tracks and landed beside the rails.

"Oh no," groaned the Driver, "now look at what you have done!"

"Oh the Idignity," Gordon moaned.

With Henry back on the tracks, he was able to continue on and promised to get help as soon as possible. All Gordon could do now was to stay still and wait for someone to rescue him.

Henry was soon switched onto Gordon's express line and backed down tender first to the point where the express passengers, the stationmaster and James, who was moving his goods train into a siding, were waiting.

"Gordon's come off the tracks while trying to help me," said Henry, "you better call the search and rescue centre and ask them to send Rocky."

"No need to," said James, "I'll go rescue him."

"Very well James," said the stationmaster, who was a little unsure of James' plan, "but please be careful."

"Sure thing sir, in the meantime, you better let Henry take the passengers or they might start complaining to the Fat Controller and that will never do at all."

It was lucky for everyone that Henry was heading off to Vicarstown anyways, so he was more than glad to take the express. Once the guard had blown his whistle, Henry puffed away while James puffed off to the rescue.

"So much for being a rescue engine," James chuckled to himself as he set off to the rescue, "I guess it's true when they say 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall'."

And still laughing, James rolled onto the marshland track.

James soon found Gordon, still derailed, "So much for being a rescue engine huh?" James shouted with laughter, "looks like you are the one who needs rescuing."

"Be quiet," Gordon grumbled.

It was lucky for James' crew that Gordon had derailed near the ties and the rails, so it was going to be an easy job. James' crew backed him up and then charged at Gordon's tender. James puffed and pushed, pushed and puffed.

"You'll be back on the tracks soon silly old Gordon," James chuckled while he was straining.

But all James was doing was damaging the bridge, it groaned as Gordon moved slowly. Then disaster struck! The bridge collapsed under Gordon's weight and sent him into the muddy marsh. Gordon's crew were shaken and dirty, but they weren't hurt.

"Well," sighed Gordon's Driver, "that didn't work."

He and the fireman climbed out of the marsh and walked over to speak with James and his crew about how they were going to get Gordon out. "There's no need to talk," James snickered, "I know how to get him out - I'll push him out!"

"Oh no you don't," snapped the Driver firmly.

But before the driver could react, James was moving towards Gordon at great speeds.

"Put the brakes on Driver!" called James' fireman, "you're getting too close to Gordon!"

The Driver slammed on the brakes, but they little good as James charged on. The Driver tried again and again, but it was no use and had no choice but to jump out of the cab.

James ran smack into Gordon's tender with a bang! James went crashing off the bridge and landed on his side in the mud. Gordon moved a bit, but then slid down and fell back into the mud beside James.

"Oh, bust my buffers!" James groaned as he started to sink into the mud.

"Oh the Idignity," groaned Gordon as he sank further into the mud.

The two crews decided to call for help, so while three of them went to check on their engines, James' fireman called the search and rescue centre using his mobile phone.

Within ten minutes, Edward and BoCo arrived with Rocky in tow.

"What a mess," gasped BoCo.

Edward looked down to the two engines with a stern look, "now do you two see why your contest wasn't such a good idea?" the two engines groaned in repay as if to say, 'we understand'. "Don't you two worry, we'll soon have you back on the tracks in no time."

BoCo moved Rocky into postion, then the mighty crane roared into action. First he lifted Gordon out of the marshlands and back on track, then while he was getting James, Edward towed Gordon to a lonely siding out of the way.

After a while, both main line engines were out of the mud and taken off to the steamworks. BoCo took Rocky and Gordon, while Edward towed James.

Victor was surprised to see them all come in, "Goodness me, whatever happened here?"

"Don't ask," Gordon and James groaned in unison.

Once the two engines were parked inside the steamworks, Edward and BoCo set off for the Search and Rescue centre.

"Let's hope those two will have learned a lesson from this little misadventure," said BoCo, then he had to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked curiously.

"Well, I was just remembering what Duck told me about what Gordon and James said last night. They said they were better than you at being a rescue engine - and yet look at what happened today, you had to rescue them both..."

"In other words," said Edward's Driver, "You were able to prove to both of them that you _are_ the better rescue engine."

"We always did say that you would be a fine rescue engine," smiled the fireman, "Well done old boy."

"Well - thank you," Edward smiled happily.


	82. Bad Coal

_**Bad Coal**_

_**Based on "Henry's Happy Coal"**_

It was a quiet night at Tidmouth Sheds, the engines there were resting their aching wheels after a long day's work. The engines were having a friendly chat when they saw James coming in, tender first. What really surprised the main line engines was the fact that James was being pushed into his engine berth by Paxton, one of dieselwork's diesels.

"And you call yourself a really splendid engine," Paxton sniggered.

"Oh shut up," James snapped crossly.

Once James was inside his engine berth, Paxton's driver uncoupled the two engines, then after getting back into the cab, he took Paxton away. He was still chuckling as he left.

"Silly steamer," he shouted as he left the yards.

"Smelly diesel," James snorted crossly.

"What happened to you James?" Molly asked.

"I think I can guess," Henry sniggered quietly, "you were using the wrong sort of coal, then you broke down and they had to call on Paxton to bring you back here."

James only grunted in reply, "I thought so," Henry chuckled.

"Yes I took the wrong sort of coal, but I had no idea about it till I started blowing off black smoke - it's not like I took the wrong sort of coal just to shut a couple of engines up."

Henry scowled crossly at James. Molly was the next to speak up, "What do you mean by that, James?"

"I know what James is talking about," Gordon spoke up next, "it was just before his crash with the Flying Kipper - at around the same time we had those _other _engines in our yards."

"They had no names, just numbers," added Henry, "since you weren't here back then, I'll tell what happened..."

And so the engines went silent as Henry began to tell his story.

As recalled in those days, Henry was a poor steamer, ordinary coal didn't settle well with his firebox - which resulted in late trains and more often than enough, Henry was taken off a train because he had no steam. That changed though when Henry was given special coal, after he got it - he ran like a perfect steam engine, although - it left some engines jealous.

One morning, Henry was at the coaling plant awaiting his turn to get his special coal. As he waited, two blue steam engines came puffing up on another line.

These engines had no names, they just had numbers, the first of them was number 87546, often nicknamed '87, while the second engine was numbered 98462, often nicknamed '98. These engines had been onloaned to the Fat Controller when the railway was first built, but were now on 'odd jobs' to and from the Other Railway. None of the main line engines liked these two because they were very rude and often used trickery to get themselves out of trouble or tease other engines like Henry.

"Hey '87, look what we have here," snickered '98.

"I see him, it's old unreliable Henry and his special happy coal," the other steamer snickered, "what a silly engine he is."

"I am not silly," Henry snapped crossly, "I need this coal to run perfectly."

"Oh really?" snickered '87, "cause I heard differently, I heard the Fat Controller bought that coal just to keep you from complaining so much."

"I heard that too," snickered '98, "Face it Henry, you're not special, you're a weak engine - unlike us."

"I am not," Henry snapped crossly, then he spoke to his driver, "Fill my tender up with ordinary coal!"

"What?" his Driver exclaimed, "Henry, you know all too well that ordinary coal doesn't settle well with your firebox, so why are you asking me to fill your tender with it?"

"So I can show how reliable I am," Henry growled as he looked over to the two snickering steam engines.

The Driver argued with Henry for a few minutes before sighing in defeat, "alright Henry, we'll give it a try - but if you start developing problems as we work, don't blame me."

So the Driver moved Henry towards the chute, then asked the coal plant manager to load Henry's tender with the ordinary coal. The manager was confused, but he didn't argue. He pulled on the chain and the ordinary coal was poured into Henry's tender.

"I'll show you two," Henry called to the two steamers, "I'll show you how reliable I am!"

Henry puffed away, thinking he was going to show '87 and '98 that they were wrong...

That however was only wishful thinking, no sooner had he left the works station, then Henry started having problems. He shook a little bit as he puffed along, his smoke turned from white to grey and then to black, soot and ashes flew out of his funnel and landed on his boiler and on anything that sat beside the tracks.

"I don't feel so good," Henry groaned to his crew.

"Don't say we didn't wear you Henry," called his Driver, "I told you that you need your special coal, but you insisted on ordinary coal."

Henry was now beginning to regret his decision.

Later that day, he was puffing along with a passenger train and had soon reached Gordon's hill, named so because the big blue engine got stuck there years ago. It's really hard to get over the hill for an engine that is working properly, but for an engine that isn't feeling well - it's twice as hard.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Henry puffed and panted as he snorted his way up the hill.

It was a grand total of five minutes of hill climbing before Henry finally reached the top. He rolled down it safely.

Henry puffed slowly into the station with his black smoke pouring out of his funnel in an alarming way and his face was going as red as James' paint. The crew had no choice but to drop the fire and take Henry off the train. Edward came to take him off the train while the crew phoned for James to come collect the passengers.

"What's the matter Henry?" Edward asked kindly, "you don't usually blow off black smoke while you're using your special coal."

"Indeed not," said another voice, it was the Fat Controller, he was with another man in glasses and wearing a brown suit, "that special coal is suppose to help you Henry, not make you sick."

"It's not the special coal sir," said Henry's Driver and explained everything about Henry's meet with '87 and '98 at the coaling plant.

"I'm sorry sir," Henry groaned, "I know it was stupid of me to take the ordinary coal, I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay Henry," said the Fat Controller, "I can understand how you feel, truth be told - when I was younger, I did the same thing when someone teased me because of my allergies. I'll let you off with a warning this time as long as you don't try that again."

"I promise sir."

"Good engine, now - I have brought this man to see you..."

"I am the railway coal inspector," said the man, "I came here to see how were doing with the special coal. Your controller told me about what happens to you when you use ordinary coal, and now I know what happens."

"Once you have that firebox of yours cleaned out," continued the Fat Controller, "Edward will take you back to the coaling plant and this time, you will use your special coal."

"Yes sir," said Henry quietly.

Once Henry's firebox was cleared of the ordinary coal, his ashpit cleaned and his tender emptied, Edward took Henry to the coaling plant. After a few minutes, Henry finally had his special coal in his tender and he was steaming nicely.

"Thank you Edward," Henry called as he puffed away.

Edward smiled as he watched his friend puff away, then he puffed off to do some shunting work.

For the rest of the day, Henry worked like a brand new engine again, he felt so well once more. The Railway Coal inspector was quite impressed with the way Henry worked and promised to send more special coal to Sodor as soon as possible.

At the end of the day, Henry was puffing off for Knapford when he spotted '98 and '87, they both had broken down on a level crossing and now motorists were shouting at the two engines.

"Oh be quiet," they both shouted in unison.

"Run into a bit of trouble boys?" Henry called as he puffed up. The two engines grunted to reply, "don't worry you two, I'll take you to Knapford, I think the Fat Controller wants to have a word with you two."

The engines gulped, they didn't like the sound of that.

"Alright Henry old boy," called his Driver, "let's go!"

Henry agreed happily as he buffered up to '87's tender, then gently buffered up to '98's rear buffers. Then Henry pushed the two steam engines to Knapford station. When they arrived, the Fat Controller told Henry that he was proud of him. As for '87 and '98, they were scolded for their teasing ways and punished with shunting duties for two weeks.

"I don't think they liked that," Henry chuckled as he concluded his story, "it sure kept them quiet for time afterwords."

"Much to our relief," added Gordon with a chuckle.

"I sure learned my lesson that day," said Henry, "I never took ordinary coal again until after I was given my new shape after the Flying Kipper crash."

"As I seem to recall," James snickered, "your Driver and fireman made sure that you never did till after your rebuild."

Henry shot James a dirty look. Molly spoke up next, "whatever happened to '87 and '98 anyways, why aren't they working on Sodor."

"Well Molly," said Edward, "that's another story that will have to wait for another day. In the meantime, we should get some sleep, we've got a busy day tomorrow."

All the engines agreed and one by one, they closed their eyes and went off to sleep, all of which were dreaming about the good times they had in the past.


	83. Thomas, Oliver and the Snow Engines

_**Thomas, Oliver and the Snow Engines**_

_**Based on "Percy the Snowman"**_

The winter holidays were fast approaching and all the engines were working their hardest. Either hauling goods or passengers, they didn't mind the work just as long as they were working.

On the morning before Christmas Day, the Fat Controller called both Percy and Duck to the big station. Duck was the first engine to arrive at the big station, "Ah Duck, perfect timing as always," smiled the Fat Controller, "I have an important job for you, you are to go to Vicarstown station and collect our Christmas tree. The diesel that was delivering it broke down and they have no other engines to spare."

"But what about my branch line sir?"

"Oliver, Donald and Douglas can handle while you are away." Duck was relieved and puffed away just as Percry puffed into the station, "And Percy, I need you to collect our special visitors at Wellsworth - make sure you get them here before the Christmas party."

"Yes sir," Percy was worried, "but what about..."

"Thomas, Toby and Daisy can manage the branch line work without you for a while," he answered.

"Come on Percy," said his Driver, "we better get your snowplough on." Percy agreed and puffed away, feeling relieved.

He soon reached the yards, Duck was already there with his snowplough on. The two engines talked for a bit until it was time for Duck to go, "I'll see you at the Christmas party Percy!" called Duck as he puffed away.

It didn't take long for Percy's snowplough to be fitted on and he puffed away. He puffed past James, Henry and Gordon at the water tower.

"What's the rush little Percy?" Gordon called out to him.

"I need to collect the special visitors from Wellsworth and Duck's gone to collect the christmas tree!"

The big engines frowned as Percy left, they were cross at not being picked to do those important jobs.

Percy was soon coupled up to the coaches and was on his way to Wellsworth, but the journey there was difficult. A light snow fall fell at first, then it started to come harder and faster than before.

"It's getting harder to see," Percy groaned, "I barely see the tracks in front of me."

"Don't worry Percy," called his Driver, "We'll be okay, just keep puffing nice and slowly and we'll reach Wellsworth soon."

Percy certainly hoped so, but neither he or his crew knew that they were soon to run into trouble. As he got closer to Wellsworth, he could feel rain coming down on his boiler.

"Yuck!" Percy shivered.

"Keep puffing Percy!" shouted his Driver.

Neither the crew or Percy knew that the points up ahead had been frozen because of the rain, nor did they know that the points were pointing into a siding. Percy ran over the points and was diverted into the siding. Before Percy could say anything, he ran smack into some buffers.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed a moment later.

The Driver had been knocked out of the cab when they banged into the buffers, the fireman jumped down to see if he was alright, "I'm okay," groaned the Driver, "I'm not hurt."

Both of the crew members got back into the cab and tried moving Percy out of the siding, but there was a problem - thanks to the freezing rain, the rails were slippery and Percy couldn't move out of the siding. Worst still, Percy's sanding gear had failed.

"Well that's torn it," groaned the fireman, "we're stuck!"

"We'll have to walk off to the nearest signalbox and call for help."

So after dropping Percy's fire, the Driver and fireman walked off to the nearest signalbox, very slowly. All Percy could do now was to wait till help arrived, he grew cold and unhappy.

"I hope I don't become a Jack Frost again," he groaned.

As for Duck, he arrived at Vicarstown station with no trouble. The Other Railway's diesel had been moved out of the way by Norman, one of the dieselworks diesels, leaving only the flatbed with the christmas tree in the siding.

Duck was backed down onto the flatbed, then after being coupled up by his crew, he puffed off for Knapford.

The journey back though was difficult, the rain was coming down harder than before. Duck, being a bigger tank engine than Percy, had more strength and power, so he could puff through the countryside without a lot of trouble.

It wasn't long before he reached Crovan's Gate, where the Fat Controller's railway met up with the little engines of the hills. Duck had to stop near the engine's shed for an all clear signal.

"Take care out there Duck!" called Skarloey from his engine berth, "this storm is getting worse, you might run into trouble like I did all those years ago."

"Watch out for the snowy hills too!" called Rusty, "the snow there might..."

But before Rusty could say another word, Duck got the all clear signal and was on his way with the christmas tree.

He was doing quite well, that was until they came to a snowy hill. The sounds of his wheels pounding grew to the point that it shook the hillside, then it happened...

"LOOK OUT!" shouted the fireman.

The Driver stopped Duck very quickly, then both and the fireman jumped out of the cab as tonnes of snow came crashing down all around Duck. Some of the snow got into his cab and put Duck's fire out.

"OH!" Duck groaned.

There was no way for the Driver and fireman to help Duck, so all they could do was leave and try to get help.

The rain finally stopped after a few mintues, but now there was a full blown blizzard coming in. A few hours later at the big station, the Fat Controller was pacing back and fourth, just as Thomas arrived with Annie and Clarabel.

"Hello sir," Thomas called, "is something wrong?"

"Yes Thomas, I'm waiting for Percy and Duck, they haven't returned with our christmas tree and our special visitors."

Just then, Oliver arrived with a loaded train of ballast trucks, "whew!" he gasped, "it's getting worse out there, I nearly slipped to a stand still twice," then he looked around, "where's Duck, I thought he would be back by now."

"He's still out collecting the tree," said Thomas, "as for Percy, he hasn't arrived yet."

The Stationmaster came up, "I have bad news sir," he said the Fat Controller, "both Percy and Duck are stuck out on the main lines, I'm not quite where they are, the lines went out before I could get their locations."

"In that case, we better send Donald and Douglas to..."

"Pardon me sir," Oliver interupted, "but Donald and Douglas are busy with other jobs at the moment. They won't be ready for a few hours."

"Send us sir," Thomas piped up, "I could go look for Percy while Oliver goes out to find Duck. Emily can take Annie and Clarabel and Charlie can help with the ballast runs."

The Fat Controller pondered long and hard, then at last, "very well, get your snowploughs on straight away!"

So once the engines were uncoupled from their trains, they puffed off to get their snowploughs.

It wasn't long before they had their snowploughs on and were puffing down the main line side by side. When they reached Wellsworth, Thomas stopped to start his search while Oliver puffed off to Crovan's Gate.

"That's the last place anyone saw Duck," said his Driver, "we'll start there."

With that said, Oliver pounded the rails with each wheel turn by wheel turn.

Thomas checked around the yards of Wellsworth, but he couldn't find Percy there. So he decided to go back down the line, "maybe we missed something as we were coming up," he said to his crew.

"Maybe," said the Driver. Thomas soon pulled up to a lonely siding, his driver looked out the cab, "that siding seems small to me, it's not big enough for a small passenger train."

"Hold on a second," said Thomas, he strained his eyes and looked hard, he could see a patch of green in the snow, "Percy's in there!"

"Are you sure Thomas?" his fireman asked.

"I'm sure."

That was all the fireman needed to hear, he grabbed his shovel and started dugging at the front end of the huge snowdrift. The Driver grabbed a spare shovel from the cab and ran over to the front of the snowdrift. After a few minutes of digging, a face appeared through the snow. It was Percy!

"H...H...Hello Thomas," Percy shivered, "I'm glad to see you..."

"And I'm glad to see you old friend, what happened to you?"

"I ran over some frozen points, then after I crashed into the buffers, my sanding gear failed - how did you get over to that line without crashing into the back of my train?"

"I came up on the other line with Oliver, he's gone off to find Duck. Now what do you say we get you out of that snowdrift?"

"I...I...like the idea," Percy shivered with a smile on his face.

"We're almost to Crovan's Gate," called Oliver's Driver, "we'll ask the Skarloey Railway engines if they had seen Duck."

But they didn't get to Crovan's Gate, they had to stop in the snowy valley because the tracks were blocked with snow. "I bet one of those main line engines made so much noise that..."

Oliver was interupted by a voice calling from nearby, "Oliver? Is that you?"

Oliver knew that voice, "Duck? Where are you?"

"I'm under the snow!" he called.

Oliver looked and saw a familar shape under the snow, "I see you Duck! Don't worry, we'll get you out!"

Oliver's crew stepped out of the cab with their shovels and went to work. They weren't alone for long as Duck's crew returned and helped dig their engine out. After a while, they attached a long chain between Oliver and Duck, "alright Oliver!" said his Driver, "pull!"

It was hard work for the western engine, Oliver puffed and pulled, pulled and puffed until at last, Duck came popping out of the snowdrift.

"T...T...Thank you...Oliver," Duck shivered, "I thought I was going...to be out here...all night. For...a...a...while there, I thought I was...going...t...to be a popscile."

"A Great Western popscile, that's something new," Oliver chuckled, then he spoke seriously, "now let's get you back to the yards."

Oliver towed Duck back down the line, then after being turned around, he towed Duck home. They soon reached Wellsworth station where they found Thomas and Percy. Percy was coupled up to the back of the train while Thomas was in front and waiting for the special visitors to climb on board.

"Good work Thomas!" called Oliver.

"And good work Oliver!" Thomas called as the guard's whislte blew. The two engines puffed along side by side all the way back to Knapford station.

They were cheered to the echo when everyone was told of what happened, "horray for Thomas! Horray for Oliver!" they cheered.

While Duck and Percy's fire were being lit up again, the station staff, Thomas' crew and Oliver's crew worked together in decorating the tree and getting everything ready for the christmas party.

Duck and Percy thanked Thomas and Oliver for coming to their rescue, and the Fat Controller promised that the two engines could recieve new coats of paint in the new year. The party was a great success and everyone had a good time, especially the engines and their crews. Duck and Percy were both glad to be at the party, they know they would never have gotten there if it hadn't been for Oliver, his crew, Thomas and his own crew.


	84. Flora & Belle

_**Flora & Belle**_

_**Based on "Big Belle"**_

Belle is a big dark blue tank engine, she looks a lot like Arthur, except that she has a big bell on top of her boiler and she has special water cannons on top of her water tanks. Most recently, Belle showed everyone how useful she was when she and Flynn rescued the dieselworks when it was on fire.

Although she is Sodor's one and only fire fighting steam engine, she is still an engine, so whenever the Fat Controller needs an extra tank engine to help with shunting work, he will often call upon Belle to help.

One day she was working at the fishing village with Arthur, she was complaining about the work she was doing.

"It's not right for an engine like me," she grumbled, "I should be at the Search and Rescue Centre - ready for action!"

"If they need you, they'll call for you," said Arthur firmly as he shunted his trucks into place, "you shouldn't let those water cannons of yours get to your head and make you think you are the most important engine around."

Belle only grunted as she shunted her trucks into a siding. Just then, Flora, the Great Waterton Steam Tram, arrived with eight empty vans in tow, "these were just laying about the yard not being used," she was saying to Arthur, "so I brought them here for you to use."

"Thank you Flora," smiled Arthur.

Once she was uncoupled from her trucks, Flora puffed off for the yards of Great Waterton. Belle was watching from a nearby siding, "she's got a bell like I do, and she has her own yard too, I bet I would have a better time there than here," that's when Belle came up with a sneaky idea, "ah Driver, fireman, we've been asked to take some vans to the Great Waterton yards."

"And where did you hear that?" asked the Driver.

"One of the fishermen called out and told me, didn't you hear them?" Both the Driver and fireman agreed that they hadn't. Of course we all know that Belle wasn't telling the truth, but her crew didn't know that.

So once she was coupled up to a few vans carrying fish, she puffed off for the yards of Great Waterton.

"Hey Belle!" called Arthur, "Where are you going? Come back here! We're not done shunting!"

"What did Arthur say?" asked Belle's Driver.

"Ah...he said, thank you for our help for the shunting," she lied.

Arthur shouted as loud as he could, but Belle didn't stop, "You better call the Fat Controller and inform him about Belle," he said to his Driver, "he's not going to be happy when he hears this."

Belle soon arrived outside the yards of Great Waterton, but she couldn't see Flora anywhere. "Oh where could she be?" she thought to herself, then she noticed a puff of smoke in the distance, "fire! There's a fire in the yards!"

Reacting quickly, the Driver aimed the water cannons and pointed them in the direction of the smoke, then he turned a tap - within seconds, water shot out and fell down on the smoke. The water didn't stop until there was no more smoke.

"Good eye Belle," said her Driver.

Belle was proud, then she puffed off to find Flora. Of course neither Belle nor her crew knew that it wasn't a fire they were shooting water at, it was Stanley the Silver Tank Engine.

"I don't know where that water came from," said his Driver, "but it's put your fire out."

"I would like to know what did that," grumbled Stanley's fireman, "that water has soaked my brand new suit."

After a few minutes, Belle finally found Flora who was taking on water, "hello there, I'm Belle the Firefighting engine."

"I'm Flora," said the yellow tram engine, then she noticed the vans, "what are you doing here with those vans?"

"Delivering them," Belle lied, "I came here hoping to help you, it's better than working with grumpy old Arthur - he thinks he knows best just because he has a spotless record."

"Did the Fat Controller tell you to come here?" Flora's Driver asked.

"Yes indeed."

"Very well then," said Flora, "once my water tanks are filled up, we'll go back to the yards and do some shunting."

"Fantastic!" cheered Belle as she rang her bell loud and long. Flora groaned quietly, she wasn't used to the sounds of a loud bell. So once her tanks were filled to the top, Flora and Belle puffed off for the yards to shunt.

When they came into the yards, they could see some trucks soaked, "what happened here?" Flora asked.

"Oh that was me," said Belle, "I saw a fire in the yards, so I used my special water cannons to put the fire out - would you like me to show you?"

"No Belle!" her Driver said firmly, "you know better than to waste the water in your tanks like that, you need it to puff down the tracks."

"Fine," Belle huffed crossly.

"Hey where's Stanley?" Flora poundered out loud, "he was here the last time I saw him - he said he didn't have to go anywhere just yet."

There was no time to find out, Flora had to shunt all the trucks in the yards. Belle helped her out, but soon grew bored, she wanted to have some fun. So that's why when she saw Charlie come up to the Great Waterton station with a passenger train, she rang her bell loud and long.

"What's that?" Charlie groaned.

He couldn't hear anything from his Driver, nor could the passengers hear anything else - the sound of Belle's bell was really loud. Belle was having fun, "just listen to me," she cried, "I'm one of the 'bells' of Sodor!"

"More like the only annoying 'bell' of Sodor," Charlie muttered crossly, "Toby and Flora never ring their bells that loud."

Flora came up back into the yards after taking some trucks to the mineshaft, she wasn't looking too happy. She blew her loud whistle at Belle, which silenced her quickly.

"What seems to be the problem?" Belle asked.

"You're not suppose to ring your bell that loudly," Flora said firmly, "I may not be a long time resident of Sodor, but even I know it's wrong."

"But Flora, we're the bells of Sodor, we have to let everyone know who we are."

"Everyone already knows who _I_ am, they know I'm Great Waterton's one and only steam tram, I don't need to ring my bell loudly to tell them."

Before Belle could talk back, she saw Stanley puff into the yards, he wasn't looking too happy either. He wasn't alone, The Fat Controller was riding in his cab, "Belle! What are you doing here?"

"I...I..." Belle didn't know what to say.

"Didn't you tell her to work with me today?" Flora asked.

"No," answered the Fat Controller, "I told her to work with Arthur - speaking of which, he says there are a few missing fish vans, where are they?"

Belle's crew, who were also cross with their engine, pointed to the fish vans. Stanley's crew looked inside and gasped in shock, "it's all spoiled sir!"

"I am not happy with you Belle," the Fat Controller told her firmly, "I asked you to do something and yet you lie your way out of that job and come here, why is that?"

"Well sir, I wanted to work with an engine who has a bell - and I was bored with the work I was doing," she answered sadly.

"Even I know you're suppose to do your job," called Charlie.

"So it was you," Stanley spoke up, "you were the one who sprayed me earlier today," Stanley told the Fat Controller everything.

The Fat Controller was really cross with Belle, "you will go back to the fishing village and help Arthur finish with his work, then I will tell your manager to keep you in your shed for a few days, maybe some time off will teach you to never lie and to never leave your work."

"Yes sir," sighed Belle unhappily.

And that's just what she did, Belle was sent back to the fishing village. She worked her buffers off until the day's work was over, then she was sent back to the rescue centre. She remained in her shed for the next three days while Flynn took care of the emergencies on his own.

Flora and Stanley soon had the yards of Great Waterton all organized once more by the time Charlie came by with more passengers.

"I sure hope Belle learns a lesson from this," he was saying to the two engines.

"So do I," said Flora, "truth be told, she did work hard for a while."

"She just needs to learn some patience and to never lie," added Stanley.

Both Charlie and Flora agreed with Stanley. Hopefully Belle will learn a lesson from the day's events, well - what do you think?


	85. Peter Sam and the Magic Lamp

_**Peter Sam and the Magic Lamp**_

_**Based on "The Magic Lamp"**_

A long time ago, there was a little engine known as Proteus, he worked alongside with Skarloey and Rheneas in the early years of the Skarloey Railway. He could pull both passenger and goods trains without complaining. But Proteus was quite a mysterious engine, no one, apart from Skarloey and Rheneas, knew his secrets.

He had appeared out of nowhere and a few years before Peter Sam and Sir Handel were due to arrive, he vanished - never to be seen or heard from again. But he left something of his behind and only Skarloey and Rheneas knew that - well until most recently...

Work was building up on the Skarloey Railway, the little engines were kept quite busy carrying either passengers or goods trains every day, they hardly a chance to rest their wheels. Even Mighty Mac, the newest engine of the railway, was kept busy all the time.

At the end of a day's work, the little engines like to meet up at the sheds for a rest. Sir Handel was one of the last engines to arrive.

"I'm overworked," Sir Handel grumbled, "it's like the Thin Controller thinks I've got nothing better to do than to take the passengers from place to place."

"At least you get to take passengers," grumbled Duncan, "I'm stuck with the goods work."

"Passengers and goods are very important to a railway," said Duke firmly, "You should know that Sir Handel, you remember what happened on our old line when we had none, it was closed down."

"Even so, I think it's about time we got another engine for the line," Sir Handel grumbled.

"Sir Handel's right," Duncan grumbled, then he looked over to Skarloey, "I don't know how you were able to keep up with the work before we all came."

"It wasn't easy Duncan, Rheneas and I were nearly wore down to our frames. Remember what I told you a few years ago?" Duncan did remember. "There were a few years when we had some help from another engine."

"You mean there was another engine on the line before Sir Handel and I arrived?" Peter Sam asked.

"Yes. He suddenly arrived one day and helped us out for a few years, he was quite a useful engine and then one day - he vanished."

"What do you mean...vanished?" Rusty asked curiously.

"He disappeared, no one knows where he went. Some say he went off to work another railway while others say he vanished because of magic."

"He might've disappeared," Rheneas spoke up, "but he did leave something behind - his magic lamp."

"He told us a few nights before he left that if he ever left his lamp behind and another engine found it, then they could be granted three wishes."

"How would you know if the lamp was close?" Duncan asked, sounding curious.

"There are three signs to find them," said Rheneas, "first: there is a strong gust of wind that blows around you, second: you hear some creaking noises and lastly: you would see a light fickering on and off."

"What nonsense," Sir Handel sniffed crossly, "if this magic lamp was real, then one of us would've found it by now."

"You don't need to find the lamp to make your wishes come true Sir Handel," said Skarloey wisely, "it's enough just to believe in it."

Sir Handel huffed crossly, but not Peter Sam, he didn't think the legend of Proteus and his magic lamp was rubbish at all.

The next afternoon, the winch at the incline broke. So the Thin Controller asked Peter Sam to take some supplies to the incline. It was dark by the time Peter Sam was ready to go to the incline, he had a long line of trucks rattling behind him.

"We'll need to take it easy tonight Peter Sam," advised his Driver, "especially with all this fog floating all around us."

Just as Peter Sam was going to reply back, he felt a strong gust of wind blow threw his wheels.

"Bust my boiler!" Peter Sam gasped, "What was that?"

"Relax Peter Sam," said his Driver, "it's just the wind. There's nothing to worry about."

But they had plenty to worry about, the points up ahead were broken and set in the wrong direction. Peter Sam and his crew didn't know this as they rolled over the points.

As they puffed along, they heard a creaking noise just up ahead, Peter Sam looked and saw a light flickering.

"Could it be..." he began, but his thoughts were interupted when he noticed what the light was, it was a campfire.

"A campfire," smiled the fireman as he looked out the cab, "I remember sitting near a campfire when I was kid. Ah memories."

Peter Sam puffed on his way, still unaware that he puffing away from the incline.

He was due to find that out soon as he came to the bottom of a steep hill, "that's odd," he said out loud, "there's no hill along the route to the incline."

"I can't understand it myself," said the Driver, "unless...those points back at the junction...they must've been set to the wrong line and I bet you they weren't working either. Oh well, we better go back..."

"We won't make it to the incline," said the fireman as he looked at the water gauge, "Peter Sam doesn't have enough water in his tanks."

"Oh bummer," groaned the Driver.

"I wish I could find Proteus' lamp," Peter Sam whispered quietly to himself, "then maybe I can wish us to the incline."

As if by magic, Peter Sam felt another gust of wind blow aganist his wheels, then he some creaking noises from up the line and finally he saw a flickering light that turned on and off.

"The wind, creaking noises, and a flickering light - maybe it is Proteus' lamp!" Peter Sam exclaimed, "we have to get up that hill!" he told his crew.

The Driver opened the regulator and Peter Sam puffed up the hill slowly. The creaking noise got louder and louder and the light grew brighter as he got closer.

At last, Peter Sam reached the top of the hill, he didn't find Proteus' lamp, but he did find - Harold the Helicopter!

"Harold!" gasped Peter Sam, "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm delivering some materials for the farmers old chap," he answered, "What about you?"

"Well we were suppose to go to the incline, but we took a bad turn back at the junction and now I'm low on water."

"Not a problem old friend, I can guide you to a water tower, then I'll guide you to the incline." Once the materials were taken out of his cargo hold, Harold took off and Peter Sam puffed on his way.

Once his tanks were full of water, Peter Sam followed Harold all the way to the incline, using another track to get there.

"Thank you Harold!" Peter Sam called as the helicopter flew away.

Once all the equipment and tools were at the incline, Peter Sam and his crew set off back to the yards, light engine.

"Skarloey was right," Peter Sam thought to himself, "You don't need to find the lamp to make your wishes come true, it's enough just to believe in it."

Even so, he felt it was best not to mention this evening's events to Sir Handel. Peter Sam thought for sure that he would never believe him anyways.


	86. Flynn the Hero

_**Flynn the Hero**_

_**Based on "Fiery Flynn"**_

When it comes to fighting fires, Flynn the Road-Rail Vehicle is one of the best on Sodor, it was thanks to him and Belle the Fire fighting engine that the Dieselworks is still standing to this day. He's quite friendly, wise and very helpful, which is no wonder why everyone likes him.

One day, he was talking with Belle at the search and rescue centre, he was giving her some important fire fighting pointers. As he talked, Hiro the Master of the Railway came into view, he was bringing some empty log wagons that needed to go back to Misty Island.

"Good morning Belle and Flynn, isn't today grand?" Hiro asked kindly.

"Not really," Belle grumbled, "not if you're listening to Flynn."

"I'm giving you important lessons on how to fight fires Belle," Flynn said sternly, "you need to know these things in case of an emergency, if you don't - well, you'll end up in serious trouble."

"Doubtful," she muttered.

Hiro puffed on his way to the nearby sidings, Bash and Dash were to come by later to collect the trucks. No sooner was he out of sight then Diesel rolled in with a train of empty trucks.

"Good morning Diesel," called Flynn, "isn't today a beautiful day?"

"No it's not," Diesel growled, "if you weren't lazing about and looking fancy, then you would see that the day is not beautiful at all."

"I know the feeling," Belle grumbled, "I want to go out and be useful, but Flynn won't let me. He's giving me a bunch of stupid lectures. He's just being a fusspot."

"I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with you Belle," Diesel sneered.

"For your information," said Belle's Driver firmly, "Flynn is not lazing about, he's waiting for an emergency - just like you're suppose to do Belle. Remember what happened the last time you went aganist orders?"

Belle only grunted. Just then, the emergency bell went off in the search and rescue centre - a few seconds later, a man came out with an urgent message, "BoCo's engine is on fire!" he cried, "he's at..."

But before he could finish, Belle took off without hearing the rest of the message, her crew tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen. Flynn didn't race after her, he listened to the rest of the message, "Wellsworth station, hurry Flynn!"

"Right away sir," cried Flynn. His Driver jumped into the cab, turned on the siren and revved the engine, "Fiery Flynn to the rescue!"

Without wasting a second, Flynn was on his way to Wellsworth station. There wasn't a moment to lose.

He soon roared into the yards of Wellsworth, he could see smoke coming from BoCo's engine.

"Don't worry BoCo!" called Flynn, "I'm here to save you!" BoCo shut his eyes, Flynn's Driver aimed the cannons at BoCo's burning engine, then he turned a tap. Water sprayed out of the cannons and poured out onto BoCo's engine.

After a few minutes, the fire was out in BoCo's engine.

"Thank you Flynn," BoCo sighed with relief.

"You're welcome my friend, now if you'll excuse me, I need to find Belle..." Flynn looked over to Dart and Den, who were working in the yards as well, "can you take BoCo to the Dieselworks?"

"Sure we can," said the two diesels.

With that confirmed and with his own driver back in the cab, Flynn took off to find Belle. He soon found her sitting outside of the Skarloey Railway sheds, Rusty was also nearby, he was soaked all over and he looked very cross.

"You didn't need to spray me with water!" he snapped crossly.

"I had to save you BoCo," Belle said with pride.

"Ah Belle," Flynn said as he rolled up next to her, "That isn't BoCo, that's Rusty. Look at the nameplate..."

Belle looked down to the nameplate, she blushed with embarrassment, "opps," she groaned, "I wish someone had told me, then maybe I wouldn't have used up all of my water."

"We tried to tell you," shouted Duncan, who was also soaked, "but you wouldn't listen."

"Sorry about all of this my friends," said Flynn, "She's still learning."

Flynn soon changed tracks, then he towed Belle away. It was lucky that they left, cause Duncan said something that didn't sound polite.

At the search and rescue centre, both Flynn and Belle had their tanks filled up with water, then Flynn gave Belle another lecture. She simply ignored him, "he thinks he's so great because he can run on both road and rail, well he's not..."

Her thoughts were interupted when the siren went off, "Mavis is in trouble," said another worker, "she's at..."

Once bitten, twice shot. Belle stormed out of the search and rescue centre, despite her crew trying to stop her.

"The quarry," the man continued, "the fuel drums she's carrying are on fire!"

"We better get there on the double then," said Flynn as his Driver got into the cab, "Fiery Flynn to the rescue!"

With a wail of his siren and a roar of his engine, Flynn raced out of the search and rescue centre.

He travelled on the rails to Thomas' branch line, then he drove off onto the roads to the quarry. Mavis was shunting the flaming fuel drums out of the way, but by now the fires were getting out of control.

"Back away from the trucks Mavis!" called Flynn, "we'll take care of these fuel drums!"

Mavis roared to a stop, then she backed away. Flynn stopped near the truck, his Driver aimed the cannons and turned the tap - the water poured out and onto the fire. It took a long time, but at last, the fires were out.

"Thank you very much Flynn," said Mavis.

"No problem, are you hurt Mavis?"

"Thankfully no, and no one else is either."

Just then, Flynn's Driver got a call on his mobile phone - a few minutes later, he turned on the sirens and revved the engine, "you're not going to believe this, but Belle's firebars have collapsed and now her fire has set the sleepers abaze."

"In that case, what are we waiting for? Fiery Flynn to the rescue!"

Flynn roared out of the quarry and out to the open line. His Driver told him that Belle was just outside of the Dieselworks.

"I can only guess why she's there," Flynn thought to himself as he went back onto the tracks, "she must've been thinking that Mavis would be there..."

When Flynn arrived, he found Belle surronded in nothing but black dirty smoke. Sidney, Paxton and Norman were nearby, they could only watch in horror.

"Why me?" Belle coughed, "why me?"

"Don't worry Belle, we'll have that fire put out in a jiffy!" cried Flynn, his Driver aimed the cannons and turned on the tap, but nothing came out.

"Oh no," groaned the Driver, "we must've used all of our water on those fuel drums."

Belle flew into a panic, but Flynn didn't, he looked over to the diesels. "Norman, you're the only engine in operation, I need you to get me a water tanker and fast! Paxton, Sidney, you do have fire extinguishers right?"

"Yes," the two diesels said in unison.

"Good, then that will work until Norman returns." He then asked the Drivers to get out the extinguishers. They did so and ran to Belle, they sprayed at the flames until the extinguishers went out. By then, Norman returned.

"It's filled right to the top," he said, "hope this will work!"

"It'll be fine thank you."

Flynn's driver got out another hose, then he plugged one end into Flynn while Norman's driver put the other end into the tanker. It was best if he stayed, just to make sure the hose didn't come out.

The cannons were aimed, the tap was turned on and water poured out towards Belle. They had to use all the water in the tanker, but at last the fire was out. Belle was covered in nothing but black soot.

"Thanks Flynn," Belle coughed, then she saw that he wasn't happy, "I'm in for another lecture aren't I?"

"And a good talking too by our manager when I get you back to the centre," he said firmly.

Once he was turned around and coupled up, Flynn towed Belle back to the search and rescue centre.

Sure enough, Belle did get a lecture and a good talking to by the manager, "you need a bit more patience and you need to listen before dashing off," he told her firmly, "and most of all, you need to listen to Flynn, he knows more than you'll ever know."

"But sir, he's..."

"That's enough Belle! If you do something so foolish again, then I will have those cannons removed, then I'll ask the Fat Controller to make you Knapford's new shunting engine!"

After hearing that, Belle promised to try her best to be good.

The manager then walked over to Flynn, "Well done Flynn, you were great today, you saved BoCo from a nasty engine fire, you saved Mavis and the quarry workers from burning fuel drums and you rescued Belle too. I think you deserve a little reward - I think a new coat of polish is just what you need."

"Thank you sir."

"There is no one else like you anywhere, I am very proud of you," smiled the manager as he walked away. I think we're all proud of Flynn, wouldn't you agree?


	87. Henry's Signal Troubles

_**Henry's Signal Troubles**_

_**Based on "Henry's Health and Safety" and "Signal Failure"**_

One warm summer's day, Henry was puffing along the main line with a stopping passenger train. The connection from the Other Railway had been late, so Henry was puffing along quickly trying to make up for lost time. As he ran through Edward's station, he could see a green signal, "that's good," Henry panted to himself, "maybe I'll make it to the big station on time."

Or so he thought. As he was passing the platform, the signal arm rose up to danger.

"Whoa Henry!" cried his Driver and slammed on the brakes.

Henry skidded along the rails, past the signal and smashed into the tail end of a goods train. The force of the blow had knocked some of the trucks off the tracks, as for Henry, he somehow managed to stay on the tracks.

"Ouch!" he cried.

His Driver got down and looked at Henry's front end, his buffers had been bent out of shape. Henry was furious, "Why is this train blocking my track and why wasn't that signal red? It could've prevented a serious accident."

The guard came up to see what the matter was, Henry's Driver explained everything, "are any of the passengers hurt?" he asked the guard.

"Thankfully not," he answered, "though I can't say the same about Henry."

The signalman apologized for not setting the signal to red, "I guess I forgot that you were coming through," he said to the crew, "don't worry though, I already called for Harvey to come help clear up the mess."

He was right, within a matter of minutes, Harvey the Crane Engine arrived. He soon got the damaged trucks back on the tracks, then he hauled them out of the way, along with the rest of the trucks.

Henry started off once again, but it was very late when he returned to the big station. The signalman had reported that Henry went past a signal at red, it was the rails of the railway.

The Fat Controller spoke sterly to Henry that night, "You need to be more careful Henry," he said firmly.

"But sir..."

"That's enough Henry, just remember what I told you tonight, it's a very serious matter, no matter what," then he left for home.

"It's not my fault though," Henry complained to the other engines, "it was that signalman, he didn't warn me in time. Same with the foolish engine who left those trucks on the main line."

Billy heard and looked down to his buffers, he didn't say a single word.

"Signals are stupid things anyways," Henry went on, "I think we would get along just fine without them."

"No we couldn't Henry," said Edward firmly, "signals are always important to a railway, without them, we would be in alot of trouble. They are there to help make things safer."

"And at any rate," Duck piped up, "you were going much too fast through the station, you're suppose to slow down."

"I was in a hurry," Henry snorted angerily, "that diesel from the Other Railway made me late. I was trying to make up for lost time, you know how the Fat Controller feels about engines who are late."

"It depends on their situation."

"All the same," Edward spoke up, "I would like to see how you manage without signals Henry."

"I'll probably have my work done quicker than ever before," he boasted out loud.

By the next morning, strong winds were blowing hard across the Island of Sodor. This was no ordinary wind though, it was a full blown gale. Henry didn't have much of a problem as he pounded the rails.

"I could probably do much better without those silly signals," he thought to himself, "if only I could prove my point clear."

He had spoken too soon. Henry soon reached the junction where Thomas could be seen waiting with Annie and Clarabel.

"I wish we could just leave now," he puffed nervously.

"Then why don't you," suggested Henry, "signals are stupid things that only cause problems for us."

"You have to obey the signals Henry," called Thomas' Driver, "otherwise you'll have an accident."

"No I won't," Henry boasted, "I'll probably _prevent_ accidents by not obeying signals!"

"Don't be so foolish Henry," Thomas said firmly, "I felt like that once when my Driver told me that I don't need him and look what happened to me - I crashed into the stationmaster's house."

Before Henry could say another word, he heard the guard's whistle blow.

"Sorry Thomas, I love to stay and chat, but I'm needed on the main line right now," with that said and with a blow of his whistle, Henry puffed out of the station. As he puffed away, his signal changed to red.

"Stop Henry!" cried the signalman.

But Henry didn't stop, instead - he puffed out of the station with his coaches rattling behind him. The signalman shouted as loud as he could, but Henry was the least of his problems.

"I don't like the look of that canopy," said Thomas' Driver, "we should probably move Thomas ahead, just in case it falls."

"Good thinking," said the guard, who had been talking with the crew. So Thomas was moved forward a bit, it was a good thing they did cause the canopy _was_ lifted off it's framework and smashed on the platform with a crash! Then several signals fell one by one.

The signalman came out to speak with Thomas and his crew, "I've lost all my signals, I'll have to call for flagman to come out. You can go though, your path is cleared."

Thomas was quite relieved to be getting away from the station. He puffed away as soon as the guard had blown his whistle.

Out on the main line, Henry was having a wonderful time puffing along, his wheels pounding the rails and his siderods looked like they weren't there at all.

"I'll show them all that signals are silly things," he thought to himself, "I'll show them! I'll show them!"

The signalman at the junction phoned ahead and asked the next station's signalman to change his signal to red, "there's a special train coming through, you have to stop Henry."

The other signalman didn't need telling twice, he changed his signals to red and changed the points - that's when he heard a loud whistle blow.

It was Hank, he was pulling a train that came all the way from the Other Railway.

Henry was still puffing along when he saw the signal at danger, "stupid signals, I'm not going to obey them this time, they're only making me late!" And so, Henry puffed on past the signal.

"Stop Henry! Stop!" cried his Driver and tried applying the brakes, but Henry wouldn't listen to him.

"Stupid old signals won't stop me this time," he puffed.

Soon however, he was wishing that he did obey the signal - for now he could see Hank coming straight at him. Henry's brakes came on with a groan and so did Hank's, but they weren't going to be able to stop in time. Luckily the signalman had changed the points to a runaway siding. Henry was diverted into the siding just in the nick of time. Hank only bashed the right side buffer on the last coach, but luckily there was no damage done - at least not to Hank.

Henry was travelling too fast along the siding, his wheels left the rails and landed on the hard packed ballast. The coaches managed to stay on the tracks and none of the passengers had been seriously hurt.

The signalman phoned down the line and soon, BoCo arrived with Rocky in tow, he wasn't alone. "Now how did I guess you were involved Henry?" the Fat Controller asked crossly.

Henry said nothing.

"I heard you ran threw two signals and nearly smashed into Hank's goods train. I heard from Thomas that you wanted to prove how useless signals were - well you certainly showed him something, that disobeying signals is wrong. They are meant to keep you safe! Now you'll have to go to the works for repairs, maybe by then you'll learn to never disobey signals again."

"Yes sir," Henry sighed unhappily.

Molly soon came to take the coaches while BoCo took Henry off to the steamworks.

Victor was waiting when BoCo and Henry arrived, "goodness me Henry, whatever happened to you?" Victor asked. Henry told Victor everything, "well that's what happens when you disobey orders. Don't you worry, we'll soon have you repaired in no time."

Whilst Henry was at the steamworks, Neville did his work as well as his own. On that same day, Billy told the Fat Controller that he was the engine that left the goods train in Henry's path, "I didn't mean to cause his accident sir," he said, "I just needed to get more water in my tanks before I ran out."

"I see," said the Fat Controller, "well thank you Billy for owning up, I'm going to let you off with a warning, just remember to be a little more careful when you're out on the main line next time."

"Yes sir," Billy said gratefully.

The damage wasn't too seriously, other than cracked siderods and damaged wheels, so by the next day, Henry was allowed to go back to work. By now, there were men at the stations with green and red flags in hands, this operation was to go on until the signals were back up. Henry had to stop twice before reaching the platform, he grumbled about it dreadfully.

Edward and Thomas were nearby with passenger trains, "won't it be nice once we have our signals back up again?" Edward asked.

"Are you alright Henry," Thomas called cheekily, "I thought you could manage without singals."

Henry said nothing and puffed away when he was given an all clear. He now knew better than to disobey signals again, for it is a stupid thing to do.


	88. Snowplough Troubles for Thomas

_**Snowplough Troubles for Thomas**_

_**Based on "It's Only Snow"**_

Winter had returned to the Island of Sodor and with it came lots of snow. It covered the countryside in a blanket of white. The engines didn't mind the snow as they were kept busy taking passengers and delivering goods trains, day or night.

"My Driver told me earlier today that we're going to be getting a blizzard tonight," said Edward.

"And Blizzards usually mean more snow," grumbled James, "and more snow means only one thing - we're going to need our snowploughs."

"You'll enjoy that won't you Thomas?" teased Henry.

"No I won't," grumbled Thomas, "you know I don't like wearing that old snowplough of mine."

"Snowploughs are essential for every engine Thomas," said Edward, "without them, we would be struggling in the snow. Remember when you got stuck in the snow and Terence had to pull you out?"

Thomas did remember that day, but he still grumbled about his snowplough as he puffed off back to the branch line.

That night, a blizzard came to the Island of Sodor - it blew all night long, "please stop snowing, please stop snowing," Thomas said quietly.

"You can ask all you want Thomas, it's not going to stop snowing," called Gordon, "you're going have to wear your snowplough tomorrow - like it or not."

"I don't see what the problem is with a snowplough," said Duck, "they are..."

"Essential for an engine, yes I know," sighed Thomas unhappily as he listened to the howling winds outside the shed.

The next morning, the Fat Controller arrived to speak to his engines, "since we had a big snowstorm last night, I require each and every one of you to have your snowploughs fitted on," he then looked over to Thomas, "I have a special for you Thomas, you are to collect a christmas tree from the yards and to the village on your branch line."

"Yes sir," said Thomas, "But do I have to wear my snowplough? It's awkward and uncomfortable."

"Yes Thomas, you have to wear your snowplough, I can't have you get stuck in the snow again," he then gave out the jobs to the rest of the engines, then he drove away.

"Come on Thomas," said his Driver, "let's go get that snowplough of yours."

"Very well," Thomas sighed quietly.

When they reached the yards, Thomas was shocked to find that his regular blue snowplough wasn't being attached to his buffers - instead, he was being fitted with a rusty old snowplough.

"Where's my snowplough?" Thomas asked.

"Your regular snowplough is in the shops being repaired," answered one of the yard workers, "last year's snowstorm had damaged it badly, it wouldn't fit on your buffers and it wouldn't work properly. So you'll have to make do with one of the spares."

Thomas and the other engines never liked the spare snowploughs, they were old, rusty and quite heavy. Thomas' Driver and fireman helped to put the snowplough on Thomas, but it didn't go on perfectly at first.

"We'll have to try that again," chuckled his Driver.

"Horrible ugly thing," Thomas grunted.

Once he had the snowplough on his buffers, Thomas collected the tree and puffed off to meet up with Toby. Toby was to help take winter supplies to the village.

"The villagers are going to love that tree," Toby smiled as he looked back to the flatbed behind Thomas, then he looked at the snowplough, "where's your regular snowplough Thomas?"

"It's being repaired," Thomas grunted, "so I have to wear one of the spares. Now I wish I did have cowcatchers like you."

Toby just chuckled as the guard's whistle blew. Thomas puffed off first, then Toby followed along right after him.

The journey was going well, until they reached a part of the line that was covered in snow. Thomas and his crew didn't know that a rock had fallen off one of Percy's goods trains and now it was sitting on the tracks. Without warning, the snowplough hit the rock hard and swung away from Thomas.

"Bust my buffers!" exclaimed Thomas, then he gasped in horror, "it's going to hit the water tower! Stop!"

Upon seeing this, Thomas' Driver applied the brakes and whistled a warning to Toby. Thomas tried hard to stop, but he couldn't stop in time. His snowplough hit the water tower, knocking it over and ripping the snowplough off Thomas' buffers.

"Are you alright Thomas?" called Toby.

"I think so," Thomas called back.

Thomas' Driver and fireman got out and inspected the damage, "well that's torn it, we'll never be able to get the snowplough back on your buffers now," said the Driver, "I guess we'll have to call for either Terence or the Scottish engines to come clear the tracks."

Luckily, Toby's Driver had a mobile phone, so he was able to call for help, but luck wasn't on their side as the scottish engines were busy clearing the main line and Terence was at the village clearing the tracks.

"It'll be hours before Terence can get here," said Toby's Driver, "and the scottish engines can't come help us right now."

"So what do we do now?" Thomas asked.

"Well, we can either sit out here waiting for help," said Thomas' Driver, "or we can try pushing threw the snow. It'll mean more work for you Thomas, but I think you can do it. What do you say?"

Thomas thought about it, then he gave his answer, "the villagers need this tree," he said, "I'll give it a try!"

"That's the spirit old boy," smiled the Driver.

It wasn't easy pushing threw the snow without a snowplough, but Thomas was determined. At times, the drifts were so heavy that Thomas would have to back up and attack the drifts again, just like Donald and Douglas would.

It took about half an hour, but at last, Thomas and Toby pulled into the village station, just as Terence finished clearing another line.

"Phew!" gasped Thomas, "we made it."

"Well done old boy," smiled his Driver, and he patted Thomas' boiler. The villagers were pleased to see their Christmas tree, and once they were told of what Thomas did, they cheered for him.

"Not bad Thomas," called Terence, "you did quite well without your snowplough."

"Maybe, but it wasn't easy," Thomas panted.

The next day, Thomas brought the broken snowplough back to the yards, when he arrived, he found the Fat Controller waiting for him. Thomas was worried of what the Fat Controller would say about the broken snowplough.

"The villagers were quite pleased to get their tree yesterday, they've asked me to thank you for it again," said the Fat Controller. Thomas smiled, but it didn't stay for long as the Fat Controller continued, "I also heard that you were pushing threw the snow without your snowplough on. Is this true?"

"Yes it is sir," Thomas answered quietly, he then told the Fat Controller everything, "I'm sorry for damaging the snowplough sir."

"There's no need to say sorry Thomas, it wasn't your fault. Accidents do happen," the Fat Controller stared at the damaged snowplough, "I've been meaning to have that snowplough scrapped anyways. I've heard it's heavy and awkward."

"And really uncomfortable too," added Thomas quietly.

"I'll have it replaced right away," continued the Fat Controller, "and Thomas, I have good news for you. I've been told that your blue snowplough has been fixed and is ready for you to take back to the branch line."

Thomas smiled happily, "that is good news, it'll be great to use that snowplough and not that horrid awkward thing again."

Once he had his old snowplough on, Thomas puffed off to the branch line. Thomas still complains about the snowplough every now and then, but once and a while, you might hear him say, "it's better than that spare snowplough. At least this one doesn't make my buffers ache."

Although if you ask Thomas that, he won't admit it. Same old Thomas.


	89. Alice's Christmas Gift

_**Alice's Christmas Gift**_

_**Based on "Surprise, Surprise" **_

One cold winter's day, Edward the Blue Engine was puffing along with a train of trucks full of suppies for High Farm. He was running to perfect timing as he puffed along towards the farm. His Driver pulled on the whistle cord to let Alice's parents know that they were coming. As they reached the platform, they saw Alice's mother waving in a frantic way.

"I wonder what's going on," said Edward's Driver as he brought the train to a smooth stop.

"Thank goodness you've come," said Alice's mother, "we need to get Alice to the hospital, she's badly injuried!"

The Driver and fireman didn't need to be told twice - they uncoupled the trucks, then they helped Alice into the cab while the guard went back down the line to install detonators to protect the train.

"What happened Alice?" Edward's fireman asked.

"I slipped on the stairwell and fell," she groaned while tears poured down from her eyes.

"Well don't worry, we'll get you to the hospital before you can say 'Cinders and Ashes'," said Edward's Driver. He opened the regulator, then Edward puffed away as fast as his wheels could carry him.

Edward's fireman got out his mobile phone and called for an ambulance to meet up with them at Maron Station. Edward said some comforting to Alice until they finally arrived, where the ambulance was waiting. Once they were informed of what happened, the paramedics took her off to the hospital.

"I hope she'll be okay," Edward puffed quietly.

A little later that day, Edward was pulling into Wellsworth station with a passenger train when he noticed the stationmaster standing on the platform, it was like he was waiting for someone.

"Hello," said Edward out loud, "I wonder what's up."

"Well we'll find out soon enough old boy," said his Driver. He pulled on the brake handle gently and Edward slowed to a smooth stop, "hello Mr. Stationmaster, what can we do for you?"

"Nothing at all," he said, "I've been asked to pass on this message to you, it's about Alice - her dad has asked me to tell you she said 'thank you' for the ride."

"I'm always glad to help," said Edward, just as Charlie pulled up on the other line with a passenger train, "how is she doing?"

"She's injuried her leg, she'll be in the hospital for a couple of days before she can go home."

"The poor thing," said Edward's fireman sadly, "that will mean that she'll be missing the Christmas holidays."

"Nobody deserves to miss Christmas Eddie, isn't there anything we can do for her?" Charlie asked.

"It's Edward," the old blue engine said to Charlie, then he answered Charlie's question, "all we can do for her is to wish her well for when she comes out of the hospital."

A guard's whistle blew and Edward puffed away slowly.

Charlie however was convinced that they could do more for Alice. Then an idea popped into his head, "what if we bring a little bit of Christmas to Alice?"

"That's a brilliant idea Charlie," smiled his Driver, "that will make Alice happy for sure."

Charlie smiled as the guard blew the whistle. He puffed slowly out of the station, thinking to himself, "how are we going to bring Christmas to her?"

A few days later, Charlie was working at the docks with Salty. As the two engines worked, Charlie noticed Rocky loading some trucks, "hello Rocky, what's that you got there?"

"Crates of Christmas trees," Rocky answered, "These are going off to all the stations along the main lines and the branch lines too."

It was then that Charlie came up with an idea. He told Rocky all about what happened to Alice, "I think," he said after a while, "that seeing a Christmas tree would make her happy, could you spare one for her?"

"Well we'll see Charlie, if there is one left, then I'll give you one."

And so, Charlie waited and waited until Rocky had loaded up all the other trucks. Lucky for him, there was one extra crate on the pier, "it's all yours Charlie, just give me a minute and I'll put it on a truck for you."

Soon, Rocky had lowered the Christmas tree crate onto the truck.

"Thank you Rocky," smiled Charlie, "Alice will be pleased to see this tree."

"Always glad to help. Now I have a favour to ask of you, can you take me back to the Sodor Search and Rescue Centre?" Charlie agreed and buffered up to Rocky.

"Rocky, before I take you back to the Rescue centre, will you help me set up the tree for Alice at High Farm?"

"Well I don't know, I have to be ready for any emergency. You should probably check with the Fat Controller first."

"I don't want to bother the Fat Controller," said Charlie, "I'm sure he'll just say 'no', besides I'm sure they'll be okay without you - remember, this is Alice."

"Oh...very well Charlie," Rocky said with a small smile on his face, "take me to High Farm, push away."

And so, Charlie took Rocky off to High Farm, which wasn't easy for Charlie, "I wish Billy was here to help me," but he said it to himself.

When they arrived, Alice's parents were nowhere to be seen, "they must've gone off to see their daughter," said Charlie's Driver.

"So why don't we set up the tree for them?" suggested Charlie, "Then they'll be surprised when they return."

Rocky agreed to the idea and roared into life. He started lifting the crate off the truck and was about to lower it onto the platform when they heard Edward's whistle, "Charlie! What are you doing with Rocky?"

Charlie was so startled by Edward's shouting that he bumped into Rocky. Rocky was so startled that he spun the wrong way and dropped the crate - onto the railroad tracks! Edward and his crew saw the crate together, the brakes went on with a groan, but Edward couldn't stop in time. He bashed into the crate, breaking it into pieces and making the tree fall away down the hillside.

"Oh bother and blow," groaned Charlie.

"Charlie!" called a booming voice. Charlie gulped, he looked down to see the Fat Controller staring at him, "what are you and Rocky doing here? And why was there a crate on Edward's line?"

"Well sir...I...I mean we..." Charlie was finding it hard to speak.

Edward knew what Charlie was trying to say, and spoke up for him, "Sir, I think Charlie and Rocky brought a Christmas tree here to surprise Alice and her family. As you know sir, Alice had an accident a few days ago and is now in the hospital, so there's a chance she might miss Christmas...and so he and Rocky wanted to cheer her up with a tree of her own."

"It's all true sir," Charlie said sadly, "nobody deserves to miss Christmas."

"Well Charlie, I have to say that is very sweet of you and Rocky too, but you know Rocky is needed down at the Search and Rescue Centre in case of emergency."

"Yes sir," Charlie said quietly, "I'm sorry, I guess I should've checked with you first."

"It's alright Charlie, but next time you plan something like this, tell me about it first okay?"

"Yes sir," answered Charlie."

"Good, now I want you to take Rocky back to the Search and Rescue Centre. And Edward," the Fat Controller back to the old blue engine, "I would like you to collect Trevor, I'm sure he can help us get that tree back."

Once the broken crate had been removed from the tracks, Edward puffed off to the vicarage orchard and Charlie took Rocky back to the Rescue Centre.

Edward returned some time later with Trevor on a flatbed, at around the same time Alice's parents arrived back. When they had been informed of what happened, Alice's father told Trevor and Jem Cole of the safest route down the hillside.

"Be careful as you go Trevor," said Alice's father, "the road might be icy."

"Don't worry, we'll take care and have that tree back here in a jiffy," Trevor said and began the journey down the hillside. After finding the tree, Jem Cole and Edward's crew helped lift it onto a flatbed, then they headed off back to High Farm.

Charlie had just returned when Trevor appeared, "here's the tree sir," he called to the Fat Controller.

"Thank you very much Trevor," smiled the Fat Controller, then he looked over to Edward, "I would like you to take the tree to Maron Station, a friend of yours will be waiting there."

Edward smiled, then he asked, "Sir, could Charlie come with me? I'm sure he would like to say something to that friend."

"Of course he can go with you."

And so, once Charlie had been coupled up and Trevor was back on the flatbed, the two engines puffed off to Maron Station. When they arrived, they found the station completely empty, except for a few porters working on the platforms. Both engine's crews went to work in unloading the tree and decorating it.

Just as Charlie's Driver placed the star on the top of the tree, both engines saw an ambulance arrive.

"Did someone else get hurt?" Charlie asked.

"Not at all," smiled his fireman, "our friend has just arrived."

And that friend was none other than...Alice! She gasped when she saw the tree, "it's beautiful," she said while tears poured down from her eyes, "Thank you, all of you, I love it."

"If you should thank anyone here Alice," said Edward, "you should be thanking Charlie, for it was his idea."

"Yes, and that's not all," Charlie smiled as he looked over to his Driver. His Driver then presented a small present to Alice, "we didn't want you to feel sad because you're going to be in the hospital for Christmas, so my crew and I got this gift and the tree for you."

"Oh thank you Charlie," Alice said happily, "to be honest here, I haven't been happy since that accident...until now, thank you so much, you are a sweet wonderful engine."

Charlie blushed a small shade of red, "you're welcome Alice," he then remembered something Edward told him earlier, "I hope you get well soon Alice."

"Oh I'm sure I will," she then blew a small kiss to Charlie, who really blushed bright red.

After a few minutes, Alice was taken off back to the hospital while her parents took the tree back to High Farm. Edward and Charlie puffed off to the vicarage orchard together with Trevor, "you did a good job tonight Charlie," said Trevor, "you really helped cheer Alice up. You should be proud of yourself."

Charlie smiled, he did feel proud in knowing that he made Alice one happy girl once again.

"He really has come a long way since he first came to Sodor," Edward thought to himself, "well done Charlie, well done."

I'm also happy to say that shortly after Christmas, Alice was finally allowed to go back home and in a matter of weeks, she was feeling as good as new. And just the other day, she gave Charlie and his crew a few gifts as a way of saying 'thank you' for what they gave her and she even gave Charlie a kiss, "thanks again Charlie," she said happily.

"You're welcome Alice," Charlie said quietly as he blushed a small shade of red.


	90. Conquer Your Fears

_**Conquer Your Fears**_

_**Based on "Race to the Rescue"**_

One wet rainy morning, Flynn the Red Fire engine was in his shed being inspected. Belle was in the shed with him, she sniffed loudly, "I don't see why the workers are fussing over you," she said, "you look perfectly fine to me."

"Looks can be misleading young Belle," Flynn said wisely, "the workers are working on me to make sure nothing goes wrong when I'm out on the road or on the rails."

"That's it excatly Flynn," said one of the workers.

One of the other workers were removing one of Flynn's tires. Belle scoffed, "for sure they don't need to replace your tires, you hardly ever run on the roads. Most of the time, people see you flashing by on the rails."

Flynn sighed and rolled his eyes. He was about to say something to Belle when the Search and Rescue Centre's manager came walking in with a young man behind him. The young man was wearing a fancy firefighting suit, but he had a nervous look on his face.

"As you know Flynn," said the manager, "your Driver is on a vacation, so Mr. Richard Patterson here will be working with you until your driver returns."

Mr. Patterson spoke up with a shy tone in his voice, "I...I'm new to the job...so I might ask alot of...questions."

"That'll be no problem Mr. Patterson," Flynn said kindly, "just ask and I'll help you in any way I can. After all, asking questions is the best way to learn anything."

"Very good Flynn," smiled the manager, "well I must be off, I'll see you lot later."

No sooner had he walked out then the siren went off. Mr. Patterson picked up the phone, then after hearing what the emergency was, he climbed into Flynn's cab.

"What's the emergency young fella?" Flynn asked.

"Fire at Farmer McColl's farm, one of his barns is on fire."

"We better get going then," said Flynn, "I suggest we take the roads, it'll be a quicker route to Farmer McColl's farm."

"I...I don't know," Mr. Patterson said nervously, "I...I...I've never been able to drive on the roads. Everytime I drive a car or a lorry, I always make it wobble."

"Gee I wonder why," Belle said with a snigger. "If I were you, I would stay on the rails - otherwise you're going to make Flynn look a red wobble on wheels." Belle laughed until she cried.

Mr. Patterson felt foolish, so when he brought Flynn out of the shed, he didn't take him onto the road - instead, they raced on the rails.

"I think it'll be quicker this way," Mr. Patterson said nervously.

"Well if you say so," said Flynn, he wasn't so sure this was a good idea.

Flynn was soon out on the main line travelling at great speeds, all the signalmen had been warned that Flynn was coming through on the main line and while they were confused, they made sure the line was clear for him.

As Flynn rolled along, he spotted Bertie the Bus - Bertie's engine was smoking badly. His Driver took him off the road and checked over the engine, "it's overheated Bertie," he groaned, "we'll need water to cool it down now."

"Oh no," Bertie groaned, "Thomas will never let me hear the end of it if he finds out."

Bertie's Driver waved to Flynn, "can you help us?" he cried, "we need some water to cool Bertie's engine down."

"Sorry," called Flynn, "but we've got an emergency to get to right now, but don't worry, we'll come back to help you after we're done." With that said, Flynn rumbled off.

Mr. Patterson wasn't so sure about that, he was worried of what everyone would say if they saw him turn Flynn into a big red wobble, "they'd probably laugh at us like Belle did," he thought sadly to himself.

Sadly, no matter how fast Flynn was going, it was taking him and Mr. Patterson a long time to get to Farmer McColl's farm.

"Are you sure you don't want to take the road Mr. Patterson?" Flynn asked, "if we can get onto the road, then we'll be able to get there quicker."

"Ah...no Flynn, we're fine on the rails - we'll get there before you know it."

But they weren't, they were still far away from the farm. As he rumbled along, Flynn spotted Butch on the side of the road, "hey Flynn," Butch called, "can you give me a tow back to the search and centre? I've broken down!"

"Can't right now Butch!" called Flynn, "we've got an emergency to deal with, but we'll come back for you, I promise!"

Just hearing Flynn say that made Mr. Patterson shake nervously.

It took another six to seven minutes, but at last, Flynn arrived at the farm and could not believe his eyes. It was no longer just the one barn that was up in flames, the storage shed where the hay was kept was on fire too.

"Where were you?" cried Farmer McColl as he ran up to the platform, "I thought you would've gotten here ages ago! We had to use the water from Trevor's tanks to put this fire out."

"Sorry," groaned Mr. Patterson.

Trevor the Traction Engine had been on loaned to Farmer McColl to help cut up logs and plow the field. Now several hoses were in his boiler, and several pumps were being used to drain the water out and spray onto the fire.

"How are you doing Trevor?" called Flynn.

"I'm doing alright," Trevor called back, "but I'm almost out of water! Thank goodness you've come."

Mr. Patterson aimed the water cannons at the barn and turned the tap - water shot out from the cannons, but the water wasn't getting to the flames at all, they were too far from the buildings.

"What are you doing?" cried Farmer McColl, "just switch Flynn to his road mode and get him over here!"

"But I can't," groaned Mr. Patterson, "I can't drive...I'm too scared. Everyone will be sure to laugh at us, like they always do. I'm sorry Flynn, I'm letting you and everyone down. I can't do it."

"You can do it," Flynn said kindly to the young man, "all you need to do is to believe in yourself and you'll be able to conquer your fears of driving. That's a lesson I learned a long time ago when I was built as a road-rail vehicle."

"You...you were scared?" Mr. Patterson asked in surprise.

"Yes indeed. I was scared to run on the rails, I thought I would make mistakes and everyone would love at me because of those mistakes - but I soon built up the courage to conquer my fears and as you can see, I can run well on both roads and rails," he then added, "I know you can conquer your fears today Mr. Patterson, I believe in you."

"So do we," cried the farm workers, Trevor and Farmer McColl in unison, "we know you can do it."

"Just remember to believe in yourself," added Flynn.

There was a short silence, then Mr. Patterson broke the silence, "well if you all believe that I can do it, then I'll give it my best shot."

With that said, he drove Flynn off to a level crossing, turned off the railway wheels and drove Flynn on the road. Although he did wobble, they didn't stop until they arrived back at the farm. Mr. Patterson stopped the red fire engine close to the barning barn, aimed the cannons and turned the tap - water 'whoosed' out and onto the fire.

It took a long time, but thanks to teamwork, the fire was soon put out with only a bit of damage caused to the barn and the storage shed.

"I'm sorry about not getting here sooner," Mr. Patterson said to Farmer McColl.

"Nah it's okay, it could've been worse - you and Flynn did a fantastic job."

"Thank you," smiled Mr. Patterson, "now we better get going, we have to help Bertie and Butch...I think it will be best if we take the road, it'll be faster for us." Flynn just smiled as they raced off.

Very soon, they found Bertie sitting at the gates of the level crossing with his overheated engine blowing off white smoke. Mr. Patterson stopped Flynn nearby, then using the hose, he used what was left of the water in Flynn's tanks to cool Bertie's engine down.

As they were doing this, Belle came puffing up with milk tankers, "there he is," chuckled Belle, "the man who's turning Flynn into the big red wobble." She started laughing again, that was until she saw Flynn stare firmly at her.

"That's quite enough Belle," he said sternly, "it's not nice to tease others when they are scared to do something. You wouldn't like it if someone made fun of you, would you?"

"Ah..." Belle didn't know what to say, so she subsided into silence.

"Okay Flynn," said Mr. Patterson, "we're all done here, Bertie's engine has stopped smoking. Now let's go find Butch."

As they were leaving, Bertie and his Driver shouted their thanks.

Soon, they found Butch still sitting beside the road, "kind of ironic don't you think?" Butch asked, "a breakdown lorry breaks down."

Flynn cracked a little smile, "well it can happen to anyone Butch," he said kindly, "but don't you worry, Mr. Patterson and I will get you back to the Search and Rescue Centre."

Mr. Patterson moved Flynn into position, then attached a strong chain between the two vehicles, then they set off slowly and carefully towards the Search and Rescue Centre. After arriving, they pushed Butch carefully into the garage to be repaired, then Mr. Patterson took Flynn back to his shed, after he pushing a button to give Flynn his railway wheels back.

"You did great today Mr. Patterson," smiled Flynn, "you know something though," he paused impressively, "when we went to help Bertie and Butch, we never wobbled once."

"We didn't?" Mr. Patterson was surprised to hear this.

"That's right," said Flynn, "I think you're finally starting to conquer your fears of driving."

Mr. Patterson smiled, "yes maybe you're right Flynn, but I still have a long way's to go before I do, but I'm sure I'll get better in due time."

"Yes," smiled Flynn, "you will my young friend, you certainly will."


	91. Thomas & the Express

_**Thomas & the Express**_

_**Based on "Express Coming Through"**_

One afternoon, Thomas the Tank Engine was waiting at the junction for Gordon to arrive with the express. Thomas had been running ahead of schedule, but now he was falling behind it because Gordon was running late with the express. Thomas and the passengers waited impatiently for seven more minutes before Gordon and the express finally pulled up to the junction.

"And you usually say that we branch line engines are slow," Thomas said crossly to him, "yet today it's you who was being slow."

"Don't blame me for that," Gordon grumbled, "the diesel pulling the express from the Other Railway broke down, so I had to go collect him and the express."

"So you say," Thomas muttered crossly, "why I bet I could do better if I was pulling the express."

"No you wouldn't," Gordon said with a chuckle, "last time you got to pull the express, you were minutes behind schedule and don't forget, you forgot the coaches."

"I was young then," Thomas retorted, "it's a mistake anyone could make on their first try."

"Not me, when I first pulled the express, I did a fantastic job. The Fat Controller was pleased with me when I was done my first run, unlike you though, he spoke to you about learning patience as I recall."

A guard's whistle blew and Thomas had to leave, "one of these days Gordon," Thomas called, "I'll prove to you that I can the express better than you could." Gordon just laughed as Thomas puffed away.

"I could pull the express if I was given the chance," Thomas said to his crew, "I'd probably be better than Gordon."

"Emily thought like that once and look what happened to her," reminded his Driver, "besides the express is too heavy for you to pull. If you tried pulling that heavy train, you'd probably break your traction rods off for the third time or worse."

"It's better to not take the risk Thomas," said his fireman, "just stick to the jobs you can do."

"Nice to know you're supportive," Thomas said sarcastically, "just wait, I'll show you two and Gordon that I can pull the express with no trouble." Little did anyone know that Thomas was going to be given his chance sooner than they all thought.

After getting the passengers to the right destinations, Thomas towed a heavy goods train and a failed Mavis to the Dieselworks. Mavis had been asked to take some trucks to the Dieselworks, but her engine had failed and now Thomas was towing her and the train.

"Nothing to it," Thomas puffed to himself, "I can pull heavy trains with no trouble."

Soon, Thomas and Mavis arrived at the Dieselworks where Paxton was waiting for the train, "I'll take care of Mavis and the train from here," he said importantly, "you can go now."

"Yeah you're welcome," Thomas said sarcastically and puffed away.

Before leaving, Thomas shunted some coaches into one of the platforms of the Vicarstown station. As he did that, he saw a long line of five express coaches waiting by platform one - there were lots of passengers waiting by the coaches, they were looking very anxious, "where's our engine?" they asked, "we've been waiting here for a long time!"

"I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen," said the stationmaster, "but your engine's failed, we're trying to get another engine to take your train."

Thomas had overheard this, a small smile appeared on his face, "I know the perfect engine who can take the train...Me!" Thomas' Driver and fireman gasped when they heard this.

"Are you sure you'll be able to pull this entire train on your own Thomas?" asked the Stationmaster.

"Oh I'm sure I could," he said with confidence, "I can get the visitors to their destinations and on time too."

The Stationmaster looked thoughtful, "hmm, well...I guess it's worth a try, but what about your branch line?"

"Oh I'm sure the other engines can manage without me for a while."

"Very well then," said the stationmaster, "you can take the train, but if you have trouble at any point during the trip, just ask for help."

"Of course sir," Thomas smiled, but he wasn't going to do that at all. "Now I'll show them, I'll show them," he puffed happily to himself.

"Alright Thomas, we'll take the express," said the Driver sternly, "but if it gets to be too heavy for you alone, we'll take you off the train and ask for someone stronger to take over for you."

"Nice to know you're confident in me," Thomas grunted.

"If you ask me," said the fireman, "you've got over confidence in that smokebox of yours again."

But Thomas payed no attention to what his fireman said, he was just looking forward to his run. Once he was coupled up, the passengers got on board, the guard blew his whistle and Thomas started off - struggling a little bit at first.

"I really don't think this was a good idea," said the Driver.

"The train's certainly gotten heavier since I last pulled it," Thomas groaned, "but I can do this, I can do this!"

Now normally, the express doesn't stop at all the stations along the main line, but the crew had been instructed just before they left that they were to stop at several stations to allow the visitors a chance to see some of the sights. Everytime Thomas stopped though, there came a groaning sound from his brakes, but nobody had noticed it at first.

At the bottom of Gordon's hill, Thomas waited for a banker to help him up, he was feeling tired, but he was still determined.

Donald soon arrived and could not believe his eyes when he saw Thomas, "whit are yoo doin' on the front of yon express?" Donald asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Thomas puffed cheekily, "I'm pulling the train - will Gordon ever be surprised when he finds out how well I'm doing."

"Juust be careful litta Thomas," advised Donald, "yoo might be doin' weel right naw, but sooner or later, karma will come back tae bite yoo in yon buffers."

"I'll keep that in mind, now will you help me up the hill?" he asked impatiently.

"Very weel, I'm a goin', juust dinna say I dinna warn yoo."

With Donald's help, Thomas got the train up and down the hill with ease, "won't be long till we reach the big station," Thomas puffed proudly to himself, "this will show Gordon that he's wrong again and show him how strong I really am."

"He's proud and conceited," whispered the express coaches to each other, "he's heading for trouble, I can feel it in my frames."

How right the coaches were as they were due to find out...

After a while, Thomas could finally see the big station coming into view. His Driver reduced steam and went to apply the brakes, but nothing happened. The fireman tried as well, but still nothing happened.

"Ah Driver, it's time to slow down!" Thomas cried, "We're getting close to the platform!"

"We're trying to stop you Thomas!" cried the Driver, "I think your brakes are gone!"

"Oh no!" Thomas cried, "Help! Help!" The guard applied the brakes in his coach, but it didn't help as Thomas was getting closer to the edge of platform 3, still going much too fast!

Douglas, who was waiting at platform 5, sounded his whistle loudly to warn the passengers. The people on the platform ran as quickly as they could while Thomas closed his eyes and awaited the horrible crash. His Driver, fireman, guard and passengers braced themselves - there was a loud crash! Thomas bashed threw the platform for a bit and stopped within inches of the station's gift shop.

After the train stopped, the guard went along from one coach to another to see if anyone was hurt - thankfully nobody was, just a little shaken. On the platform, none of the waiting passengers were hurt either, but they had been scared by the crash.

"What happened Driver?" asked the guard.

"Thomas' brakes failed," he answered, "I guess the weight of those coaches wore them down so much that they stopped working."

Douglas was called away from his job to take the coaches away, then Henry, who had been getting ready for his train, came to tow Thomas away from the platform. The damage was bad, Thomas' entire front end had been bent out of shape and one of his buffers had fallen off just after being pulled out. As for the platform, just in front of the gift shop was a gaping hole right where Thomas was.

Henry took Thomas off to the yards, left him in a siding and then went to get his train. The Fat Controller soon came to see Thomas, he checked him all over, then he spoke to Thomas, "luckily no one was hurt in this serious accident," he said, "and now Thomas, you know now why you're never chosen to pull the express."

"Yes sir," Thomas groaned, "I guess I got too big for my buffers again didn't I?"

"Yes Thomas, you did. Now all the other engines are busy, so I'll have to leave you here until one is avaliable. I hope this little accident will teach you to leave bigger jobs like the express to the bigger engines."

"Yes sir."

And so Thomas was left in the siding with his pride shattered and his front end in a mess. He spent the rest of the day watching the other engines pass by with their own trains - he wished he was working too.

Finally at around five in the afternoon, Donald arrived to take Thomas to the Steamworks, "go ahead Donald," Thomas groaned, "you can say it."

"Nae Thomas, I dinna want to say it, nae after whit happened to yoo today."

It took quite a while to repair Thomas' front end, but soon all the repair work was done and Thomas could go off back to the branch line. The platform was also repaired and a new set of buffers had been installed to help prevent what happened to never happen again. As for Thomas, he was touchy on the subject of expresses for sometime afterwords. Gordon noticed too that from then on, Thomas stopped making remarks about how easy it is to pull the express.

**Author's Note:**

Thomas' accident into the station platform was based on the real life event where a LMS passenger train failed to stop and smashed threw the buffers and platform and stopping just outside the waiting room. This event took place at Euston Station on August 27th 1928, at least thirty people were injuried.


	92. Edward the Helpful Engine

_**Edward the Helpful Engine**_

_**Based on "Edward the Hero"**_

One warm summer's day, Bill and Ben were puffing along to the harbour with their trains of China Clay trucks. As they puffed along, they heard a faint buzzing sound coming from above them, "What is that strange sound?" Bill asked curiously.

"What sound?" asked Ben.

Before Bill could answer that question, the answer came into view - it was Harold the Helicopter, flying by in a hurry. "Silly whirly bird," snorted Bill, "Why can't he go 'buzzing' somewhere else?"

Soon they arrived at the harbour where Edward and BoCo were waiting for their trucks of 'hoods'. Hoods are special sort of trucks that are full of dry china clay, covered by a tarpaulin. As they came to a stop, BoCo could see that the twins were cross about something, "is something wrong you two?" he asked kindly.

"It's that buzz box Harold," grumbled Ben, "almost every day we hear him buzzing just above us in a hurry, I think he's doing that to annoy us."

"He's giving us a headache flying above our line," added Bill crossly. "I wish his engine would stall and he never flies again."

Ben was quick to agree, Edward was shocked by such rude behaviour, "that's no way to speak about a loyal friend like that," he said firmly, "what if someone was badly injuried where the roads are too bumpy for cars or lorries and where rails can't reach them? What would those poor people then huh?"

Neither Bill or Ben answered that question, "they would be in a great deal of trouble that's what," Edward continued, "with Harold, they can get the injuried people to the hospital with no worries. He might be loud, but that just means he's working to help others. Remember this youngsters, heroes come in any form. Now do you still think Harold should remain on the ground and never fly again?"

Bill and Ben looked very shamefaced, "No we don't," they answered in unison.

Just then, they all heard a buzzing sound coming from above them. It was Harold again, he had just come from his emergency and was now racing to the hospital. This time, neither Bill or Ben complained about Harold - they didn't say a word.

Instead, they shunted their first line of trucks for Edward to take away.

"I'm sure they'll think twice before insulting Harold again," BoCo whispered to Edward.

Edward agreed and puffed away to collect his trucks.

On his way to Wellsworth station, Edward spotted Charlie the purple tank engine stopped by a red signal. He looked upset, "hello Charlie," said Edward, "what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm nervous Edward," he puffed, "I'm suppose to collect the Vicar and the Sunday School children. I haven't pulled passengers in a long time, I've forgotten how to do the job properly. What if I make a mistake?"

Edward smiled in a calming way, "you'll do just fine Charlie," he said kindly, "just remember that coaches are not like trucks, they don't need to be bumped. Also remember to give the passengers a nice smooth ride, so go slow and steady and lastly...don't forget to believe in yourself."

A smile reappeared on Charlie's face, just as the signal dropped, "I'll give it a try, thanks for the advice Eddie!" and he puffed away.

"It's Edward!" called Edward. He just chuckled, "Same old Charlie." Once the signal arm had dropped, Edward puffed on his way to the yards of Wellsworth.

It wasn't long before he reached the station where he found James with a long line of passenger carriages waiting at the platform. Passengers were buzzing around him like angry bees. The stationmaster came up, "thank goodness you've come," he said, "James couldn't make it up the hill on his own, will you give the train a push please? These people need to get to Vicarstown before their train leaves."

"Of course we'll help," said Edward kindly, "just give us a minute here to shunt these trucks into the siding."

"Very well then," said the stationmaster. He left to speak to the passengers while Edward shunted his trucks into the sidings, carefully and slowly. When he was done there, Edward buffered up to the back of James' train, then once the guard had blown his whistle, the two engines started off for Gordon's hill.

They stopped just before the hill, then both crews got out to place extra sand on the rails.

"Peep! Peep!" whistled James, "are you ready back there Edward?"

"Peep! Peep! I'm ready James, pull away!"

Clouds of smoke and steam poured from their funnels as they stormed up the hill. Their wheels slipped at times, but thanks to good wheel gripping and determination, they soon got the train up and over the hill.

James whistled a thank you to Edward before he disappeared out of sight. Edward was nearly out of puff, but he whistled a good luck signal on his whistle before returning to Wellsworth.

"Well done Edward," smiled the stationmaster, "you're a real life saver, I don't know what we would do without you."

"Well sir, I'm always glad to lend a buffer whenever someone needs me," Edward smiled.

A little later, Edward was taking some trucks down to the junction. As he puffed along, he saw a red signal up ahead, but that wasn't all he saw, "isn't that Katie?" he asked.

The Driver looked out the cab window, "it is Katie," said his Driver as he carefully applied the brakes, "what is she doing all the way out here on her own?"

Katie, Farmer McColl's sheep dog, looked up nervously at Edward. Then she jumped in surprise when he wheesed steam.

"Poor little dog, she must be scared of me. Maybe if I'm quiet, then maybe she'll jump into my cab, then we can take her back to Farmer McColl."

Edward tried hard not to make a sound. Katie sniffed the old engine a few times - then at last, she jumped into his cab.

"Alright little doggy," smiled the fireman as he patted Katie, "let's get you back to Farmer McColl."

Once the signal arm dropped, Edward puffed off slowly and carefully to the junction. There were no engines available to take the train, so Edward was given permission to run on Thomas' branch line.

As he pulled up outside of the farm, they found Farmer McColl walking out of his barn looking worried, "oh Edward, Charlie, Sid, thank goodness you've come," he said, "I've lost my dog Katie, have you seen her?"

Edward smiled, "indeed we have sir, just look in my cab," he smiled.

Farmer McColl looked into the cab and smiled. A second later, Katie the dog jumped out towards him, he patted her happily, "I was so worried about Katie and wondering where she was," he said happily, "I guess she saw something earlier and jumped out from my lorry on our back from market. Thank you for finding her."

"We're always glad to help sir," smiled Edward.

After being uncoupled, Edward puffed off back to his branch line light engine. As he pulled up to Wellsworth station, he found BoCo talking with Harold, who was parked beside the station. "Hello Harold," called Edward, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm just dropping off medical supplies for your station before I have to return to the Search and Rescue Centre," he answered.

Just then, Charlie puffed past with the Vicar and the Sunday School Children's train, "hey Eddie, thank you for the advice, it really helped!"

Before Edward could reply back, James puffed by with another passenger train. "Thank you for the help earlier today Edward! I would still be stuck out on the hill had it not been for you!"

BoCo smiled when he heard this, "you were right Edward, heroes come in any form."

"Like a kind helpful blue tender engine named Edward," smiled Harold as his engine started up, "keep up the good work old friend." He whirled his arms and buzzed away back to the Search and Rescue centre while Edward and BoCo headed off to collect more trucks from the China clay twins.


	93. Kevin the Really Useful Crane

_**Kevin the Really Useful Crane**_

_**Based on "Kevin the Steamie" **_

Kevin is a crane that works at the Sodor Steamworks, despite being a little clumsy at times, he does his best everyday to please Victor and the works manager.

One day, the Steamworks was busy as usual with some trucks being repaired and with Spencer on one of the sidings. He was in for some minor repairs after his Driver had noticed that he had been losing steam badly during one of their runs, "I should be out on the main line, not sitting in here where no one can see me," Spencer groaned.

The workers simply ignored Spencer and continued on with their work.

Kevin was working nearby, moving some crates from one end of the shop to the other, Victor puffed over to Kevin, "I need to go collect some parts for Spencer," he said, "I'm leaving you in charge of the Steamworks until I get back. Do your best Kevin."

"Yes boss," smiled Kevin, "thank you boss, I won't let you down boss."

"I know you won't," smiled Victor. He reserved out of the siding and puffed away, blowing a 'good luck' whistle to Kevin.

A little later, Kevin was bringing some crates from the back of the works to the front, ready to be loaded onto flatbeds that were being brought in by Emily, who was running a little late.

"She'll be here in half an hour," said the works manager, "she's busy with another job right now. When she arrives, please ask her if she can take some of those trucks in the back with her."

"Yes sir," said Kevin, but then had a thought, "those trucks are empty right?" he asked.

"Yes they are empty," said his operator, "why?"

"Well, I was thinking, maybe I can move them up to the front for Emily, then it would save her a lot of bother."

Spencer had overheard and just laughed, "You? Shunt? Ha, don't make me laugh," he said rudely, "only steam, diesel and electric engines can shunt trucks. Cranes like you, can't shunt, that's one of the reasons you're not as useful as us engines."

Kevin felt hurt, "cranes can be just as useful as engines," he said quietly in protest.

His operator was thinking about Kevin's suggestion, "Well I guess it would be okay if we give it a try," he said, "I have heard stories of some other roadway vehicles moving coaches and trucks, so I don't see why we can't try."

Kevin's face lit up at once and he raced off to get the rest of the crates, he would bring them up first, then move the trucks.

When his first job was done, he went to the trucks. There were only five of them waiting to go. The trucks were surprised to see Kevin coming up towards them, "what are you doing?" they asked.

"I'm going to move you to the front," said Kevin, "it's going to save Emily some time."

Kevin's operator got out and attached the hook to the coupling of the first truck. "Alright Kevin," he said as he climbed back in, "let's give it a try." He put Kevin into reserve and the little crane moved back, but the trucks, despite being empty, were just too heavy for Kevin to move.

"Oh bother," groaned Kevin.

Spencer laughed again, "having a bit of trouble there?" he called rudely, "maybe you should call for a real engine to do the job."

"No it's okay Spencer, I can do this!" Kevin called back. His operator got down and uncoupled the trucks until Kevin was ready to pull only two trucks, "I'll show Spencer how useful cranes are."

With his operator back in the cab, Kevin reserved slowly - this time, the trucks moved slowly towards the front. "Yes," Kevin cheered, "I knew I could do it."

He soon had the trucks had the front of the Steamworks, ready to be taken away.

"We'll deal with the other ones in a minute," said Kevin's operator, "we got other jobs to do first."

So once Kevin had been uncoupled from the trucks, he raced off to do his next job. When the works manager came out, he was surprised to see only three trucks at the back of the shop, "I thought there were five of them," he said in shock. He shook his head, "I must be working too hard, I think I need a vacation," he walked off back to his office to deal with more paperwork.

After completing some of his other jobs, Kevin raced back to collect the other trucks. These trucks however did not want to move, they were comfortable where they were, "we don't want to be moved," they grumbled, "we're comfortable where we are."

"Sorry," said Kevin, "but I need to move you before Emily shows up."

Once again, his operator had coupled him up to the trucks. Once back in the cab, he threw Kevin into reserve - but Kevin didn't move, "the trucks can't be that heavy," said the operator.

The reason Kevin wasn't moving the trucks was because the trucks had put their brakes on 'on purpose', "we said we're not moving, and that's that! You can pull all you want, but we won't go!"

"Come on!" cried Kevin, "Come on! Come on! Come on!" Kevin's wheels spun furiously, but still the trucks didn't move. They continued to hold their brakes on and giggled in their silly way.

The Steamworks manager had heard the screeching tire sounds and came out to see what was going on, "Kevin!" he cried as he came out, "what are you doing?"

"Ahhh!" screamed the trucks, they hadn't heard the manager come out. They let go of their brakes and Kevin, along with the trucks, shot off to the front of the shops, going much too fast!

Emily was just pulling in, she gasped when she saw Kevin racing towards them with the trucks, "slow down Kevin!" she cried.

"I can't!" cried Kevin.

Kevin's operator soon gained control of his little crane and moved him out of the way before getting squished in between the trucks. It wasn't a good idea though, cause now the trucks were pulling Kevin along with them - straight towards the other trucks, several oil barrels and the crates.

Emily, Spencer and the workmen could only watch in horror, Kevin's operator jumped to safety - there was a loud splintering crash as the trucks had smashed into each other and Kevin had smashed into the crates and one of the oil drums - the force of the blow made it fly into the air and spilled all the oil all over Emily before it crashed to the ground, "yuck!" she groaned. After hitting the barrels and crates, Kevin tipped over while the trucks went crashing into the sidetable well with an ear-shattering crash.

Victor had just arrived, he could not believe his eyes as he looked at the mess, "suffering Sodor, what happened here?" he asked.

Kevin was in too much of a daze to answer Victor's question.

The Steamworks Manager calls for both Harvey and Butch to come help clear the mess. First Butch helped to clear the trucks off the sidetable well, then he and Harvey worked together to clear up the mess and lift Kevin back upright.

"What happened here Kevin?" Victor asked when he came in.

The Steamworks manager was also present, "I would also like to know what happened there, I saw you trying to move trucks."

"I'm sorry boss...ah bosses," Kevin said nervously, "I just wanted to help Emily save some time, but I guess I only caused trouble. Again, I'm really sorry."

Spencer snickered once again, "what's so funny?" Harvey asked firmly.

"Oh nothing, it's just that Kevin has proven my point - cranes aren't as useful as us engines," and he laughed even louder.

"Is that so?" Butch asked firmly while raising an eyebrow, "Spencer, did we just not clear up that mess in front of the Steamworks?"

Spencer stopped laughing. Harvey spoke up next, "cranes are useful in many ways Spencer. We help clean up accidents like the one that was outside of the workshops and we also help load and unload trucks, lorries and anything that can carry cargo."

"So it goes to show you, cranes can be just as useful as engines! Now would you like to take back what you said?" Butch asked sternly.

"Ah..." Spencer was at a loss of words. At last he said, "yes, I would. Cranes are just as useful as us engines."

"Good," said Harvey, "now don't you forget that Spencer."

"Ah...ah...I won't forget," he said nervously.

Emily spoke up next, "so Kevin, you were trying to shunt trucks huh? Well, you were doing okay for a while, but if you want my advice, if they start causing trouble for you, just give them a good hard bump."

"Thanks for the advice Emily, but I think for now on, I'll leave shunting trucks to more experienced engines like yourself," he then looked over to Victor, "for now on, I'll just stick to doing what any useful crane does - lifting heavy loads and loading and unloading trucks."

"Good to hear Kevin," Victor smiled. Emily agreed as she puffed off to get the trucks. As for Spencer, well - after Harvey and Butch's little talk with him, he hasn't been rude to Kevin again - truth be told, he doesn't say a single word on the reliability of cranes.


	94. Races and Short Cuts

_**Races and Short Cuts**_

_**Based on "Fearless Freddie"**_

One morning, Sir Handel arrived at the Transfer yards light engine, he was to wait for the Thin Controller to give him his next job. As he waited, Thomas came puffing up with a flatbed. A big grey tank engine could seen on it, it had six wheels, a brass dome like James' and he had the number seven just below his coal bunker. The engine also had a nameplate on him, which read 'Freddie'.

Sir Handel didn't need to read the nameplate, he recognized the engine right away, "Fearless Freddie," he smiled, "it's good to see you again."

"Like wise old friend," smiled Freddie.

"Do you two know each other?" Thomas asked.

"Oh yes," smiled Sir Handel, "we've known each other since I was first sent away to the Stone Quarry. It's actually thanks to good old Freddie here that I became the engine you see now. So Freddie, what brings you to our little railway?"

"I'm your newest engine," Freddie answered, "Your Thin Controller has bought me to help with the workloads."

"Well I'm glad you're here Freddie, we can certainly use some help."

Just then, Skarloey and Rheneas arrived light engine, just after bringing some trucks to the Transfer yards, "are my old eyes deceiving me?" Skarloey asked, "or is that Fearless Freddie?"

"It is Freddie," gasped Rheneas.

"Hello you two," smiled Freddie, "long time no see."

Thomas was once again shocked, "you three know each other?" That was all he could say.

"Oh yes," answered Skarloey, "Freddie worked with us for many years long before Sir Handel and Peter Sam ever came to our railway. We haven't seen him in years."

"Are you still racing like you used to?" Rheneas chuckled.

"Sadly not," answered Freddie, "I can't race about like I used to. I've given up racing, and just focus on getting the job done..." he paused before adding, "and I've given up cheating too."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sir Handel.

"I seem to recall some old stories about Fearless Freddie when he used to work here," said Sir Handel's Driver, "from what I was told, Freddie used 'short cuts' to get his jobs done and to get to the yards before Skarloey or Rheneas."

"Your Driver is right Sir Handel," said Freddie, "I did use short cuts, old worn out lines that the Thin Controller had told us not to use. I often used them though to always get the best jobs first."

"Now why does that sound familar?" Sir Handel thought to himself.

"Or," Freddie continued, "to win a race aganist Skarloey and Rheneas."

Skarloey chuckled, "oh yes I remember those. On some days, Rheneas, Freddie and I would race down the mountain side as we made our way back to the sheds. Sometimes Rheneas would win, I won a few times and the rest of the time, Freddie would win the race."

"Skarloey...and Rheneas...racing?" Once again, Thomas was at a loss of words.

"Oh yes, we did race when we were young and foolish," said Rheneas, "like most young engines, we liked having fun - although," he paused before looking over to Freddie, "some of us forget to just have fun and focus more of winning, right Freddie?"

Freddie chuckled nervously, "yes, I remember that day all too well..."

"Can we stick around to listen?" Thomas asked before Freddie could begin.

"Sure why not," smiled his Driver, "we got some time we have to collect our trucks." And so, the engines went quiet as Freddie began to tell his story...

"It was a nice sunny day. Skarloey, Rheneas and I had finished our work for the day and we were ready for another race down the mountain side. That day was different though, mostly because I had suggested to Skarloey and Rheneas that morning that we should race down a different line. They weren't completely sure if it was a good idea, 'the manager did say that the line isn't safe,' said Rheneas.' "

"I assured him and Skarloey that the line was safe enough, 'you two aren't scared of losing to me are you?' I asked cheekily. "

" 'Of course not,' they said cheekily, 'we're just as fearless as you.' "

" 'We'll see about that,' I chuckled. On the count of three, we were on our way down the mountain side. I raced along on my line until I came up to a junction. My Driver got out and changed the points, then climbed back into my cab as we started away. 'Now there's no way those two engines will beat me', I chuckled to myself."

"Thanks to that shortcut, I won the race and made it down the mountain safely. The same couldn't be said about Skarloey and Rheneas, they had to run over the bumpy tracks - then it happened, Rheneas bounced off a bouncy piece of track and disappeared out of Skarloey and his crew's sight."

"I waited for the two engines to arrive, I hummed a little tune to myself, but I was cut off when Skarloey arrived, 'Hello,' I said, 'where's Rheneas? I thought he was in front of you.' "

" 'He was,' Skarloey panted, 'that was until he came off the rails and now I don't know where he is.' "

" 'Oh dear', I thought to myself, 'I didn't want this to happen.' "

" 'I just wish I knew where Rheneas went,' Skarloey said sadly, 'the manager won't be pleased when he finds out...' "

" 'Indeed I'm not,' said a firm voice, it was the manager, 'I've heard you three engines have been racing on dangerous tracks. I've warned you that those lines are not suitable for fast speeds. Skarloey, I am disappointed in you and Rheneas,' he paused before looking over to me, 'but I am most disappointed in you Freddie, you should've known better than to suggest a race down the mountain side!' "

" 'We're sorry sir,' both Skarloey and I said in chrous."

" 'You should be, now thanks to your reckless racing, Rheneas is lost.' "

" 'Maybe not sir,' I spoke up, 'I think I might know where Rheneas went. I know all the forgotten lines, if we take one of those lines, we just might find him.' "

"And so, we started searching down the many forgotten lines. It took a few hours, but we soon found him nestling in some bushes by the line, 'Thank goodness you've come, I thought I was going to be here forever', he said happily."

" 'Nah, we would never dream of leaving you out here,' I joked. Soon, my Driver had attached a long chain between myself and Rheneas, then puffing hard, I hauled Rheneas back onto the rails. After being checked for any damge, the three of us puffed off back to the yards. After we returned, the manager scolded us, but let us off with a warning and made us promise to never race dangerous down the mountain sides again. And that night, I apologized to Skarloey and Rheneas and promised I would never use short cuts ever again," Freddie concluded.

As his story came to a close, the Thin Controller arrived, "hello Freddie, it's nice to see you again, I trust you had a smooth ride."

"Yes indeed sir," smiled Freddie, "and I've enjoyed getting reunited with old friends."

"That's good, now once we get you off that flatbed, I want you to collect some slate trucks and take them down to the Wharf. And Thomas, your goods train is already for you to take back to the big station."

"Yes sir, I'm on my way," said Thomas as he was uncoupled.

It wasn't long before Freddie was unloaded from the flatbed and taken to the slate mines for the trucks. All day long, he worked hard and ran to perfect time. He also got along very well with the other engines, they loved hearing tales of his earlier days on the Skarloey Railway and when he worked on the Stone Quarry railway.

The Thin Controller was very pleased with Freddie, "he certainly has become a mature engine since his first visit here," he thought happily to himself, "I'm glad I bought him. Hmm, since both he and Sir Handel have become mature engines during their trips to the Stone Quarry, maybe I should send Duncan for a while." He chuckled quietly to himself as he rode away for home.


	95. Billy Knows Best

_**Billy Knows Best**_

_**Based on "Don't Be Silly Billy"**_

One morning, Thomas was puffing along to the dockyards with a long goods train rattling behind him, "I wonder why the Fat Controller asked me to bring this train," he said to his crew.

"I don't know Thomas," said his Driver, "all I know is that he wanted to see us about something important."

"Guess we'll find out when we arrive," said the fireman.

Thomas soon reached the docks and after being uncoupled from his trucks, he and his crew puffed over to meet up with the Fat Controller, "Right on time," smiled the Fat Controller, "good work Thomas."

"Thank you sir," smiled Thomas, "can I ask you though? What did you want to see me about?"

Before the Fat Controller could answer, there came a whistle from somewhere behind Salty's trucks. A second later, an orange tank engine pulled up right beside the dockside diesel. This tank engine had a rectangular tank on top of it's boiler, it had six small wheels, a big cab, a short dome and a very tall funnel.

"This is why I called you here to the docks," said the Fat Controller, "this is Billy, he's our newest tank engine. As you know, Donald and Douglas have been working hard over the years and while I appreciate all the hard work they do, I don't want them to overdo it, that's why Billy is here, he's going to help them with their work."

"Glad ta hear that," called Douglas from a nearby siding, "Donal' and I have been feelin' rushed oof oor wheels lately."

"Well hopefully having Billy here should help ease the backlog off your buffers." The Fat Controller turned his attention back to Thomas, "I would like you and your crew to show Billy around and help him with some of his jobs, Rosie and Daisy can handle your work until you come back."

"Yes sir," smiled Thomas, "We'll be glad to help."

"There's a good engine, I'll check up on you two later," and with that, the Fat Controller left.

Billy didn't look too happy though, "I don't need any help," he grumbled, "I can do my jobs on my own. I don't need some bossy boiler telling me what to do." His crew, who were alot like Billy, agreed with their engine. The Driver pulled on the lever and he puffed away.

"Nae ta good fer a first impression," said Douglas, "ya better hurry Thomas, otherwise ye'll lose the wee engine."

"I'm already gone," puffed Thomas and steamed away after Billy.

He soon found Billy at Farmer McColl's farm with a couple of vans, "just give us a few minutes Billy and we'll have the chickens loaded up into your vans," called Farmer McColl, "remember, you have to puff slowly with them..."

Billy just wheesed steam crossly, "I know what to do," he grumbled, "I know best!" He then spoke to his Driver, "couldn't we go do our next job, this is going to take forever."

"I don't see why not," said his Driver.

And so they left, but without uncoupling the trucks. "Hey, where are you going you Silly Billy?" cried Farmer McColl, "we haven't finished loading the chickens!"

But Billy payed no attention as he puffed away.

"Bother Billy," puffed Thomas crossly, "Something tells me I'm going to be doing all of Billy's jobs for him today."

Thomas puffed after him. It wasn't long before he found Billy at the central Island Quarry. "Oh, you're still following me," grumbled Billy, "I thought I lost you back at the harbour."

"Well you didn't, I've been following you this entire time. I also saw that little stunt you pulled at the farm, that was extermly dangerous."

"There's nothing dangerous about puffing off to do another job," grumbled Billy.

"But it is when you puff away with the vans that were suppose to be loaded," said Thomas firmly. Billy's Driver looked back and saw that Billy was still coupled up to the vans, "if you want my advice Billy, I suggest you go back, wait till the chickens are..."

"I don't want your advice!" snapped Billy, "I'm perfectly fine on my own! Driver, uncouple the trucks! We have to collect the diesel fuel next!"

So once the vans were unloaded, Billy puffed away light engine.

"Here we go again," groaned Thomas as he steamed away after Billy.

As he puffed along though, he lost sight of Billy, "I hope Billy hasn't gotten himself lost. It's quite easy to get lost if you don't know which way you're going," Thomas thought to himself.

Thomas puffed up to the Wharf next to the Skarloey Railway and sitting there with a flatbed of oil drums was Billy.

"There you are," puffed Thomas, "I was getting worried of where you..."

"Silly Billy!" cried a stern voice, it was the Thin Controller, "we didn't ask for diesel fuel, we asked for coal. Without it, our engines will run out and operations will come to a hault."

Billy grumbled crossly, "Fine I'll go collect your coal, that just means more work for me to do!" And Billy puffed away, but without the flatbed of diesel fuel.

"Not again!" groaned Thomas. "Don't worry sir, I'll come back later to take away the fuel. First things first, I have to make sure Billy collects that coal."

"Good luck!" Duncan called, "you're going to need it with that Silly Billy."

Thomas was quite relieved to find Billy at the coaling plant. Billy was backing up some empty trucks towards the hopper, but neither he or his crew knew that Percy was already underneath the hopper, he was to collect some coal for the branch line.

"Stop!" Percy cried.

But again, Billy and his crew didn't listen. As a result of it, Billy's trucks bumped into Percy and pushed him directly under the hopper.

"Please don't fall on me again," Percy muttered quietly.

Too little, too late. A workmen, shocked by the banging noise, pulled on the chain and coal toppled out of the hopper and all over Percy, "not again!" he coughed, "watch where you're going Silly Billy!"

"Don't call me that!" snapped Billy.

"Well if you would do your jobs properly, then maybe everyone will stop calling you that," Thomas said firmly.

"Oh shut up bossy boiler! I don't need unless advice from an old timer like you!"

"Old timer?" Thomas exclaimed, now he had had enough, "fine Billy, if you think you can do so much better on your own, why don't you go and prove it to me!"

"With pleasure," smiled Billy and he puffed away in a hurry.

Once Billy was out of sight, Thomas helped Percy over to the washdown. A dented buffer was the only damage caused. Once Percy had been shunted out of the way, Thomas went to work in shunting coal trucks for the Skarloey Railway.

He soon had them all in line and ready to go back to the Wharf. Before he could couple up, the coaling plant manager arrived, "Billy has run out of water just outside of the coaling plant, he's stranded. Can you go over and help him?"

"Help that silly foolish engine? Sorry sir, but I refuse to help an engine who thinks he knows better than anyone else and won't listen to advice."

"Now why does that sound familar?" said his Driver, "I seem to remember a little blue tank engine who also thought he knew better than anyone else and wouldn't listen to the advice given to him. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about, don't you Thomas?"

"Indeed I do," sighed Thomas, "you're talking about me back when I was younger."

"That's correct, you were young and foolish back then too, but you learned to be the engine you are today. Billy is just like you, but he won't learn anything if we don't help."

"Besides," added the fireman, "if we don't help and the Fat Controller finds out about this, so shall we, if you take my meaning."

"I do indeed," Thomas said gravely. He then spoke to the coal plant manager, "we're on our way sir," and with that, Thomas puffed off to find Billy.

Thomas soon found Billy stranded just outside the coaling plant, he looked very sad, "I just can't understand what went wrong," he said sadly, "I was doing fine until we came to a hault."

Thomas gently buffered up to Billy and pulled him to the nearest water tower. His Driver loaded the tanks with water while the fireman shovelled in more coal into the firebox.

"Well thank you for all your help bossy boiler," Billy said firmly to Thomas, "but I think I can handle myself for now on."

"Billy, if you continue acting like this, the Fat Controller will be cross with you and he'll most likely send you back to the Mainland and buy another engine to work in your place, you wouldn't like that would you?"

"Ah...no I wouldn't," Billy said quietly.

"Then let me help you. I can help you do your jobs properly and teach you a few important lessons, like being patient and being careful." Billy was reluctant at first, but soon he agreed to allow Thomas to help him.

Thanks to Thomas, Billy soon had the coal trucks delivered to the Wharf, then after collecting the diesel fuel, the two tank engines took it to the quarry for the diesels. Then after collecting the vans, they puffed off back to the farm to collect the chickens. At first, Billy wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but Thomas was firm with him and reminded him to wait until the chickens were loaded up, "remember Billy, Patience is a Virtue."

Once the chickens were loaded up, Thomas and Billy puffed off together to the docks, slowly and carefully.

Finally by the late afternoon, they had finished all of Billy's jobs. The Fat Controller returned to see them, "well Billy, I heard that you were a little...er...troublesome earlier today."

"Yes sir, I was and I'm sorry," Billy sighed sadly, "but thanks to Thomas, we got the jobs done with minutes to spare. I promise too that I'll become a better engine if Thomas and the Scottish twins promise to help me."

"Of course we'll help you Billy," smiled Thomas.

"If ye need any advice or help, dinna be afraid ta ask," said Donald.

"Aye," agreed Douglas, "we'll be glad ta help ye Billy."

The Fat Controller smiled, he was pleased to hear this. "Most excellent," he said, "with these and other engines helping you, you too will become a really useful engine one day Billy."

"That will be great sir," Billy smiled, "I would like that."

"So do we," Thomas, Donald and Douglas said in one voice. Billy smiled, he was quite pleased to be a part of the Fat Controller's railway and to be a member of a really useful team of engines.


	96. Percy to the Rescue

_**Percy to the Rescue**_

_**Based on "Up, Up and Away"**_

One morning, Percy was at the junction waiting for a clear line down to the harbour. He was taking a load of empty trucks there and was to bring back loaded ones, but first he had to wait until Daisy came through with her passengers.

As he waited, he overheard some children on the platform talking, "did you see that movie last night?" one of them asked.

"Oh you mean that one with the cool superhero?" another one of them said.

"That's right. He's so awesome, he's super strong, he has all those powers and he's always there to help a friend and stop the bad guys. He is so cool."

"You can say that again," said another of their friends, just as Daisy arrived, "I especially like when he says 'Up, Up and Away!' "

With the line clear, Percy set off with his empty trucks. Along the way to the harbour, he spoke to his crew about what he heard, "ah yes, I know that superhero," said his Driver, "I used to read books all about him when I was just a little boy. The story goes that he would go about protecting the innocent from the bad guys."

"He sounds like an amazing hero," said Percy, but then he asked, "why does he say 'Up, Up and Away."

"Oh I haven't heard that saying in years," chuckled the fireman before he answered Percy's question, "well Percy, it's what he says before he takes flying."

Percy was in awe, "wouldn't it be great to be a superhero like the hero the children were talking about," Percy said out loud, dreaming of what it would be like.

"I guess it would be," said his fireman, "but you know of course that engines can't fly and neither can we."

Percy knew this, but still he had his dreams.

Later on, he met up with Toby at the harbour. Toby was shunting some trucks into a long line before taking them down the branch line, "hello Percy, you seem to have a lot on your mind."

"Oh it's nothing really Toby, I was just dreaming of what it would be like to be a superhero," and he quickly explained about what he heard.

"Ah yes, I know that superhero. My Driver's youngest son dresses up like him on Halloween, he likes that superhero because he's a kind person who uses his powers for good."

"Yeah that was what my crew was saying on the way here. I wish I could be a superhero like him," Percy sighed unhappily, "but I know that will never happen cause engines can't fly and I'm not strong as some of the other engines."

"Well you might not be able to fly like that hero," Toby said kindly, "but you can be a hero in a time of need. Remember when you got the children home, despite the floods and how about the time you rescued me when I was drifting away? It's like the old saying goes 'you don't always need super powers to be a hero'."

"I guess so," said Percy.

Toby's Driver came back after checking the couplings on the trucks, "okay Toby, we're all ready to go. We can't keep Douglas waiting."

"Right you are," said Toby. His Driver pulled on the lever and Toby started away, "just remember Percy, while you might not have super powers, you can be a hero when you need to be'." And with that, Toby puffed away with his trucks following along behind him.

When Toby had left, Percy went about his work shunting the trucks around the quayside. When he was done, he collected his loaded trucks and set off along the branch line.

Further down the tracks, near the local farm just past the Kyndley Cottage, Harold the Helicopter was flying about doing his daily patrol. Everything seemed to be going well, until...Harold's pilot heard a spluttering noise coming from the engine.

"What's going on?" Harold asked.

"I think there's something wrong with your engine Harold," said his pilot. The spluttering noise got louder and louder, which worried the pilot, "we're going have to land in that field Harold, I don't know if you'll be able to make it back to the Search and Rescue Centre with your engine spluttering like this."

It was a good thing they decided to land, cause the moment Harold touched down on the field, his engine gave out and smoke bellowed out.

"Well at least this time we made a safe landing," said the pilot as he climbed out, "now the question is, with your engine broken down, how are we going to get you back to the Rescue Centre?"

Neither Harold or his pilot knew. Just then, they heard a loud whistle and puffing into view was Percy.

"Hello Harold," he called cheekily, "have you decided to give up flying and become a tractor like Terence?"

"No Percy I'm not," groaned Harold, "my engine's broken down, I can't get back to the centre. Can you help me please?"

Percy could now see the seriousness of the situation and decided to help, "of course I will Harold, I got to deliver my train, but I'll come back with help."

Percy was true to his word, after taking his goods train to the junction, his Driver went to phone for help. Percy soon returned with Harvey, the breakdown train, Terence and some workmen. The workmen climbed out of their coach and started lying planks of wood in front of Harold, while Terence's owner got him chained up to the helicopter.

Soon all was ready, "alright Terence, easy does it now!"

Terence tugged and pulled, pulled and tugged and very slowly, Harold moved over the wood and towards the railway. Once he was near the railway, Harvey and the breakdown cranes lifted Harold off the ground and placed him on a flatbed. The workmen got out some chains and chained Harold down onto the flatbed.

"Okay Percy," they called, "you can take Harold away now!"

"I'll take Terence and the workmen home," called Harvey.

With that confirmed, Percy puffed slowly away to the junction. James was waiting at the junction with empty log wagons that were to go back to the Misty Island Logging Railroad, he originally had a clear signal through, that was changed when the stationmaster flagged him down and asked him if he could take Harold back to the Rescue Centre.

James waited a bit and soon Percy arrived with Harold on the flatbed. He quickly shunted Harold onto the back of James' train, then once the flatbed had been coupled up, James puffed away to the Search and Rescue Centre.

A few days later, Percy was being prepared for another day's work when he and the other engines heard a familar buzzing sound from above them. They looked to see Harold the Helicopter hovering down towards them.

"Hello Harold," Percy called, "how do you feel?"

"I feel much better now Percy," he answered back, "I feel like a brand new helicopter again. I want to thank you personally for coming to help, you are a true blue friend."

"You mean a true green friend don't you?" Percy chuckled. Harold laughed along to that, "and you're welcome Harold," he turned his attention over to Toby, "You were right Toby, you don't need super-powers to be a hero. Anyone can be a hero."

"Quite right my friend," said Harold, "well I better be off, see you later old friend!" Before he took off, he said out loud, "Up, Up and Away!" and with that, he buzzed away, while Percy set off to collect his first goods train of the day.


	97. Stafford the Shunting Engine

_**Stafford the Shunting Engine**_

_**Based on "Welcome Stafford!"**_

Charlie wasn't happy, he had been unwell for a while. He tried to work hard, but every time he tried to do some shunting at Knapford or when he's taking a train, he would run short of steam and often was left stranded out on the line. The Fat Controller knew this and decided to send Charlie off to the Steamworks for an overhaul.

Shortly after Neville took him away to the Steamworks, the Fat Controller decided it was about time to get a full time shunter for Knapford, "it's alright for some of the engines to help," he thought to himself, "but they, like Charlie, can't always do the shunting and their work without falling behind on their timetables or without wearing themselves down."

The Fat Controller went to see a friend, who owned a railway museum and showed off an engine named Stafford.

Stafford is neither a steam engine or a diesel engine, he is known as an electic engine that runs on a battery. "He may not be able to go for long distances," said the museum owner, "but he is a great shunter."

"That's all I needed to hear," smiled the Fat Controller, who turned his attention to the museum engine, "would you like to be a full time shunter again Stafford?"

"Oh yes," smiled Stafford, "yes please, I would like that very much."

The other museum engines were upset that Stafford was going to be leaving them, but they were happy for him and his new job.

Since Stafford's battery had no power at the moment, a diesel from the Other Railway took him from the museum all the way to Sodor, along with a goods train where they met up with Donald, who was to take Stafford and the goods train to Knapford.

"So, ye be Stafford, the naw shuntin' engine I heard sae much aboot," he said on the way.

"That would be me," said the new comer, "I'm to work at Knapford Station only, I don't mind though, I like being a shunting engine and helping to get the trains ready for the other engines."

"That's good ta hear, but watch oot for Spencer, he can be a handful at times and really knaws how to get under yoor wheels."

"Thanks for the advice and don't you worry, I'm keep a good eye out for him."

After arriving at Knapford, Stafford was taken to a special area of the yards where he had his battery recharged, then once he was at fully charged, he set to work at once in Knapford yards. He collected the coaches and took them to the big station where the big engines were waiting, then he went to shunt the trucks.

At first the trucks played some tricks on Stafford, but they soon learned that it was a big mistake, for a little engine, Stafford was strong.

"Keep on the right side of him," the trucks advised each other, "the last thing we need is for another truck to be scrapped."

Stafford did so well that he soon impressed Henry, Gordon and James, so they didn't complain once. Thanks to Stafford, all their trains ran to perfect time. Not one of them ever spoke rudely about him, well...all except for one engine in particular.

Spencer had returned to Sodor with the Duke and Duchess of Boxford, who wanted to spend the summer on Sodor at their summer house.

When Spencer arrived at Knapford Station one summer's day, he found Stafford shunting some coaches for BoCo. He started shouting orders at Stafford, "hey you, little shunter, take my coaches to the Summer House, I need to have my tender refilled!"

"Sorry, but I can't go that far," Stafford answered, "Besides, I have two more trains to arrange, you'll have to take the coaches there yourself."

Spencer gasped in shock, "now listen here you little..." but Spencer couldn't finish what he was saying. Stafford had already rattled away to collect the oil tankers for Sidney to collect, "who does that little engine think he is talking to me like that? I want to get my tender refueled."

"Oh quit your whining Spencer," his Driver said firmly, "we'll just shunt the coaches into a siding and then we'll go get your tender filled up."

Spencer was not happy, he shunted the coaches roughly into one of the coach sidings, then he puffed off to the water tower. Duck and Oliver were already there getting their tanks filled up.

"Out of the way!" snapped Spencer, "I'm in a hurry, I cannot be late!"

"You'll have to wait your turn Spencer," Duck said firmly, "Oliver and I need to get our tanks filled up otherwise we'll be left stranded on the way to the Little Western."

"Just be patient Spencer," said his fireman firmly, "we have plenty of time before we have to meet up with the Duke, Duchess and their friends."

Spencer looked like he was going to blow a steam pipe, "first that small engine tells me to shunt my own coaches and now these silly tank engines hog the water tower all to themselves. What is this? Gang up on Spencer day?"

"Someone sure got out on the wrong side of the shed," snickered Oliver.

"Oh shut up!" Spencer then spoke to his crew, "take me back to the coach yards, I want to collect my coaches and go to the summer house!" His crew argued with their engine, but after a while of going nowhere fast, they gave in and took Spencer off back to the coach yards.

"Spencer does have enough water to get there, but I don't know about the way back," the Driver whispered to the fireman, "I hope we're making the right decision here."

"You and me both," agreed the fireman.

Duck and Oliver watched as Spencer puffed away. Once he was out of sight, Oliver whispered to Duck, "something tells me that Spencer will get shown up again before the sun goes down for the day."

Even Duck had to agree with Oliver.

Spencer grumbled all the way back to the Summer house, "I am an important engine and important engines shouldn't have to shunt their own coaches," he grumbled to himself, "an important engine should be treated like royality, not second best. When I meet that shunter again, I will give him a piece of my mind!"

His crew simply ignored him and continued on with their work. The Driver kept a close eye on the water gauge, "we'll need to stop at the next station to take on more water," he said to the fireman, "otherwise..."

"Spencer will get stranded out on the main line...again," muttered the fireman.

But they didn't stop, Spencer refused to stop and take on more water, "I do not want to be late for the Duke, Duchess or their friends!". The crew tried hard, but Spencer refused to stop, so they gave in and decided to fill him up on the return journey.

His spirits lifted when he arrived at the summer house and found the Duke and Duchess and their friends waiting for him. "This is our private engine Spencer," said the Duke, "a former LNER A4 class pacific engine."

The guests gathered round and took plenty of pictures of Spencer, "ahh," he smiled, "it feels good to be me." And he wheesed steam for them, "this will make a great photo, don't you think?"

The visitors agreed and took more pictures of Spencer. His crew were getting concerned though, they warned him not to do that for he was wasting water, but Spencer refused to listen to them.

Soon it was time to go, the visitors climbed into the coaches, the guard blew his whistle and Spencer was off. He hummed along happily down the tracks while his wheels turned so fast that the siderods looked like they weren't there at all. They soon stopped at a station, "We'll give you a good topping up here, then we'll continue on," said his Driver.

"Well make it fast," Spencer said grandily, "I don't want to keep our guests waiting."

But there was trouble, the Stationmaster came out to speak with the crew, "you won't be able to get any water here," he said to them, "you see one of the pipes has burst, we got no water here. You'll have to go to the next station, their water tower is working just fine."

The crew had no choice, they had to go on, but with each wheel turn, Spencer puffed slower and slower until he was at a crawl. The crew damped down his fire, but it did no good and soon enough, Spencer was stuck on the main line.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had waited in Knapford yards for a free spot at the water tower," scolded his Driver. He then turned to the fireman, "Call the yards and see if they can send an engine."

"Already on it," he said as he got out his mobile phone and phoned the yards at Knapford.

After a few minutes, they heard a strange sound coming towards them. Seconds later, Stafford the Shunter came into view, "I thought you said you couldn't make out to the summer house," sniffed Spencer.

"I can't," said Stafford, "but I can make it out here, and I'm sorry about being late, I had to have my battery recharged before we left."

Stafford's Driver climbed down from the cab and coupled his engine up to Spencer, "he'll never be able to pull me and the three coaches behind me," snorted Spencer, "he doesn't look that strong, you might as well call for another engine to come help us."

"Oh you wait and see," said Stafford's Driver, "Stafford will prove to you just how reliable he is, won't you boy?"

"I'll do my best sir," Stafford said with determination.

When all was ready, Stafford started moving, slowly at first and then went faster and faster as he rolled down the tracks. Spencer hardly said a word, he was worried of what the other engines would say when they saw him.

He soon found out when he arrived, "I was right," said Oliver cheekily, "Spencer landed in trouble once again."

"How many times have you been rescued by one of us Spencer?" Gordon called in a cheeky way as he waited at platform three.

Spencer didn't say a word, he was embarrassed. The Duke and Duchess came up to speak with Stafford, "thank you for coming to help us Stafford," said the Duke, "we know you're busy and all..."

"Nah it's okay," smiled Stafford, "I'm always glad to help anyone in trouble."

Next, the Duke and Duchess spoke firmly with Spencer, at around the same time as the Fat Controller came out of his office. The Visitors told the Fat Controller everything that happened. When they had finished, he went up to the front to speak with Stafford, "I'm proud of you Stafford, for both your shunting work and for helping Spencer and the coaches here, I see I made the right decision in bringing you here."

"So are we," shouted a passenger, "we would've had a long walk had it not been for Stafford."

"Three cheers for Stafford!" shouted one of the other passengers. Within seconds, the station was filled with the sounds of cheering and loud whistling and honking horns. The only one who didn't cheer was Spencer, he remained respectfully silent and as for Stafford, well he blushed when everyone started cheering for him.

"Something tells me," he thought to himself, "that I'm going to love working and living here."


	98. Thomas, Percy and the Dragon

_**Thomas, Percy and the Dragon**_

_**Based on "Thomas, Percy and the Dragon"**_

It had been some years since Percy played his ghostly trick on Thomas, making him think he had seen a ghost. To this day though, Percy still likes to tease Thomas about that night.

One evening, Thomas arrived back at the sheds feeling tired and looking forward to a good evening's rest and he would've gotten his rest, had it not been for Percy.

"Oooohhhhh!" he said in a spooky voice and chuckled, "I hope your Driver leaves the light on for you tonight."

"Why?" Thomas asked crossly, "I quite like sleeping in the dark thank you very much."

"Oh really?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow, "I always thought you were afraid of the dark, I wonder why."

"Pah!" grumbled Thomas and tried to go to sleep. Sadly Percy went on teasing him throughout most of the night, until Toby and Daisy told him to go to sleep.

The following next afternoon, the Ffarquhar branch line engines were out on the branch line working. Well, all except for Thomas, "Daisy will take care of our passengers," his Driver said to him, "we're to go to the harbour near the big station, we have to collect something...uh, let's call it rather unusual."

"And what is this 'rather unusual' delivery?" Thomas asked curiously.

"You'll have to wait and see to find out, now let's go."

Once he had steam up, Thomas was taken over to the goods yard where he collected a flatbed and a guard's van, then he set off, "at least I won't have to hear Percy's teasing tonight," Thomas thought to himself.

Later that afternoon, Percy was shunting trucks into a siding near Elsbridge Station. He was to wait for Daisy to pass with the passengers and a milk train too. Moments after getting into the siding, Daisy roared into the station at around the same time as Henry arrived with his passengers.

"Enjoying the milk run Daisy?" Percy asked.

"It's alright," she answered, "at least these tankers behave better than the trucks from the harbour, they're horrid."

"You need more experience with them Daisy," said Henry, "then maybe you won't have so much trouble with them."

"Pah," grumbled Daisy.

Soon her passengers were on board and Daisy rattled away. Moments later, Henry left the junction and disappeared into the distance. Percy waited for the points to be reset, but they didn't change.

"What's going on?" he asked, "why aren't they changing?"

The signalman ran down to speak to him and his crew, "I'm sorry, but there is something wrong with the levers. I can't change the points back for Percy. I've called for some workmen to repair them, but they won't arrive till tomorrow morning."

"Oh bother," groaned Percy, "now I'll have to stay out here all night."

"It won't be so bad Percy," said his Driver, "it'll be like camping out under the stars. Just be thankful it's not going to rain tonight."

Percy was grateful, but he felt a little nervous about staying out all night.

After dropping the fire, Percy's Driver and fireman headed off for home, leaving poor Percy alone in the siding with only the trucks for company. The green saddletank engine could only watch as other engines passed, either on their way back to the sheds, or heading out to a job.

Soon night came, the station staff had gone home and there were fewer trains running in the night, Percy felt lonely and a little scared, "I've forgotten how dark it can get out here," he thought nervously to himself.

"Hoot! Hoot!"

"Wha..." Percy nearly screamed, until he saw an owl on the nearby fence on the hill. "Oh, it's just an owl, nothing to be scared of. It's not like a large creature is going to come out of nowhere and scare me." With that thought in his mind, Percy closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Thomas in the meanwhile was waiting at the harbour for his special load. The ship had been delayed out at sea and so hadn't arrived till after dark. Thomas waited patiently, then all of the sudden, he saw something that nearly made him jump off the rails.

"Cinders and Ashes!" he exclaimed, "a Dragon!" But then he got a closer look at it, "it's not real."

"No Thomas of course not," chuckled his Driver, "that's a Chinese Dragon, it's on loan to us for the Ffarquhar Autumn Fair tomorrow. When lit up, it's a grand sight to see."

"Well our dragon's going to have lights on tonight," said the fireman, "it'll be for our protection tonight."

While the workmen did what they had to do, James bustled into the dockyards with a goods train, "hello Thomas, did you hear about what happened to Percy?"

"Don't tell me, he was involved in an accident and now his ghost is coming back to get me."

"You just won't forget about that night will you?" James chuckled.

"Percy never lets me forget it."

"Well Percy was not involved in an accident, he's actually trapped in the siding at Elsbridge till morning. From what I was told, the points had failed."

A sly grin came across Thomas' face, "I think I now know how to pay Percy back for his joke," he chuckled and whispered to his crew, who agreed to carry out the plan, "this should hopefully stop the teasing."

When everything was ready, Thomas set off back to the branch line. The guard's van lead the train, followed by a van full of equipment and supplies, the flatbed with the dragon followed and Thomas brought up the tail end of the train.

As they got close to Elsbridge, they got ready to pull the plan off. The plan was that when Thomas came puffing past, he would wheesh lots of steam, surronding the dragon and make Percy believe that he was seeing a real dragon.

Percy was still sleeping, but he wouldn't be sleeping for long.

WHEESH!

Percy awoke with a start, he then looked to his right and saw a giant creature surronded in thick clouds of steam. He quickly shut his eyes in fright, he didn't even notice Thomas pushing behind the train, trying hard not to burst into laughter.

"Help!" Percy shierked, "I'm not opening my eyes until my crew gets hurt!"

Percy kept his eyes shut all night long, but he didn't sleep a wink. He was too scared to sleep anyways.

By the early morning, the workmen arrived and soon had the points fixed, allowing Percy to be taken out of the siding with his trucks. When Percy arrived at the yards, he found Daisy shunting the milk vans into a siding.

"Hello Percy, where were you all night?"

"I was stuck at Elsbridge in the siding, although I wish I wasn't. I saw something scary."

"What was it?"

"A big creature surronded in steam, it was glowing too. I didn't dare sleep in case it came back again."

But Daisy didn't seem to believe Percy, "I know the type of creature you're talking about, it's called a dragon and it's not a real creature. You were probably having a nightmare."

Toby said the same thing when Percy told him and when the three big main line engines heard, they just laughed at Percy.

"You've got quite an imagination Percy," they chuckled, "whatever will you think up next?"

"Maybe I was seeing things last night," Percy thought to himself as he puffed along to the harbour, "maybe the dragon was just a part of my imagination."

But Percy was soon to learn that this was not true. As he pulled up to Ffarquhar, he saw something which made him scream in horror, "There, there it is! It's the Dragon!" He could see it close by and surronded by thick smoke again.

The Driver and fireman looked out the cab and started laughing, "There's your Dragon Percy!" chuckled the Driver, "it's just Thomas!"

When the smoke cleared, Percy could now see that it really was Thomas behind the flatbed, "hello Percy, did you enjoy your night out?" Percy said nothing, he just stared at the dragon, "This isn't a real dragon, it's a Chinese Dragon that's on loaned to the town of Ffaquhar for the Autumn fair," then he asked cheekily, "Were you scared when you saw the dragon?"

"No," Percy protested, "I knew it was you Thomas, I was just playing along."

"Sure you were," Thomas said with a sly grin.

Needless to say, after that day, Percy's never teased Thomas about the 'Ghostly Trick' again, cause if he does, Thomas will simply remind him of when the little green engine get the scare of his life.


	99. Henry and the Station Ghost

_**Henry and the Station Ghost**_

_**Based on "Haunted Henry"**_

When Bill and Ben heard the story of Percy being scared of a dragon, they laughed and laughed, "that's the funniest thing I've heard all day," chuckled Bill as he and Ben shunted at Wellsworth, "next to Henry staying in the tunnel because he was afraid of the rain."

"They are such scaredy engines," chuckled Ben.

"Percy might be a scaredy engine, but I'm not!" snapped a voice from nearby, it was Henry. He was waiting for a clear signal so that he could head out to an old line that was under restoration, but he wasn't too happy to be hearing Bill and Ben teasing him about the time he stayed in the tunnel, "I didn't want the rain to spoil my fresh coat of paint, and anyways that was years ago, it won't happen again."

"So you say," snickered the twins while the trucks behind Henry started laughing.

"Stupid things," Henry grumbled crossly.

Hoot! Hoot! came the call of an owl nearby.

Bill and Ben heard this and found a chance to play a trick on Henry, "you know Bill, I heard from my Driver that when an owl hoots at night, a heavy fog rolls in."

"I heard that too," said Bill, "and when there's fog about, there's usually a ghost along the old lines."

"Take care as you puff along Henry," called Ben.

"Pah!" scoffed Henry as the signal changed to green, "There are no such things as ghosts. Besides, a heavy fog doesn't always roll in when an owl hoots." And still fuming, Henry departed from Wellsworth with his goods train. "Owls, fog, ghosts," he muttered quietly to himself, "don't those two ever know when to stop?"

It wasn't long before Henry had reached the old line, but as he puffed along the line, a heavy fog began to roll in.

"I don't remember hearing that we were going to get fog tonight," said Henry's Driver, "it sure gives the line an eerie feel, don't you think?"

Before the fireman answered, Henry cried out, "there's an amber lamp up ahead!" he shouted.

The fireman leaned out the cab and saw that there was an amber lamp hanging from a tree branch, "better slow down," he advised the Driver, "someone's warning us of danger ahead."

Suddenly, they heard rustling noises coming from the small forest close by, "who's there?" shouted the fireman.

No reply came. Henry crept slowly forward down the line until he came to a closed off crossing gate. Nearby stood a signal which was red, the crew were quite puzzled, "what is going on here? We were told that the line ahead is clear," said the Driver, "and yet, the gates are closed and the signal is red."

"There's also a coat hanging on a branch," said the fireman.

Sure enough, there was a coat hanging on a branch, it flapped about as the wind blew on it. Then they all looked ahead to a station that had been closed down years ago, very faintly in the fog, Henry could see a figure moving about inside the building. Henry was just a loss of words, he felt as though as his throat had gone dry.

"Maybe we should go back to the last station," suggested the fireman, "maybe we can find out what's going on."

"Good idea," Henry said nervously.

After informing the guard of what they were going to do, the Driver opened the reserver and Henry reserved slowly down the line, glad to be getting away from the station. When they arrived back at Wellsworth, they found the stationmaster waiting for them, "thank goodness you're all safe," he sighed with relief.

"Why do you say that sir?" asked the fireman.

"The viaduct along that old line had collapsed. The moment we heard that, we thought you would've fallen into the ravine, but thankfully you didn't continue on."

"Well after seeing an amber lamp, a red signal and a coat hanging on a tree branch, we thought it was best to do so," said the fireman, "but we're not sure who warned us."

Henry piped up at that moment, "very faintly in the fog, I saw a figure walking around in the station building."

"Nobody's suppose to be in that station," said the stationmaster, "I'll inform the police about this. In the meantime, you better shunt your trucks into a siding and go back to Tidmouth."

With that said, the stationmaster walked off back to his office to make the calls while Henry shunted his trucks out of the way.

But by the next morning, the police found no evidance that a person had been sneaking around in the old station, "it was completely empty," said the police cheif to Henry and his crew, "we found no coat, no amber lamp, the signal was out and the gates were open. Maybe the fog and your minds were playing tricks on you last night."

"Perhaps," said Henry's Driver, "but then how could we have been warned about the viaduct being out?"

"That we do not know, we're still trying to figure that out."

Later on, Henry was at Wellsworth with a stopping passenger train. Bill and Ben were nearby, shunting china clay trucks, "did you see a ghost last night Henry?" Bill asked cheekily.

"You look like you've seen one," teased Ben.

"That must be why he came back last night," chuckled Bill, "perhaps he did see a ghost and ran away like a scardey engine."

Edward, who was nearby with a passenger train of his own, was cross when he heard this, "while we may not know why Henry came back last night, it was a good thing he did. If he had continued on, he could've had a serious accident. Would it have been funny then?" Bill and Ben went silent at once.

"It's quite strange," Henry said thoughtfully, "we saw a red signal and a coat on a branch and yet the police found nothing."

"Your situation last night sounds like something Old Bailey would do," said Edward.

"Who?" Bill and Ben asked in unison.

"Old Bailey was the stationmaster of that old station back when the line was still being used. Whenever danger was on the line, he would always warn the trains or motorists before they ran into it, he was a friendly man who was devoted to the railway and his old station," Edward paused and chuckled before saying, "with the way he worked, he was often nicknamed 'The Station Ghost.' He even stayed to work in the station after the line was closed and the station was turned into a bus stop, but after the station was closed down, Old Bailey disappeared and no one's heard from him since."

A guard's whistle blew and Edward departed from Wellsworth with his passenger train. The moment he was out of sight, Bill and Ben piped up, "maybe his ghost has come back to warn us," said Bill.

"Or scare others away," said Ben, "what do you think Henry?"

But Henry didn't answer, he instead puffed away without saying a single word.

Over the next few days, workmen worked hard to repair the damaged viaduct and over time, the mystery of who warned Henry and his crew was dismissed and everyone believed they were seeing things in the thick fog. That was until one evening...

On that evening, Henry stood at the front of a goods train, ready to take supplies and equipment to the end of the line. The viaduct had been fully repaired, so they were given the all clear to go down the line. Before leaving though, they had to wait for Gordon and the Wild Nor Wester to pass them.

As they waited, they heard "hoot! Hoot!" from an owl close by and Gordon thundered by. Henry hadn't heard him and nearly jumped off the rails, "Henry's spooked," giggled the front truck and the others giggled in their silly way.

"I'm not scared!" snapped Henry, "now be quiet or I'll bump you!"

"Easy Henry," soothed his Driver calmly. "Now listen, tonight we're going have to go slowly, we do have a fog warning for the evening and by the sounds of it, it's going to be really thick."

Finally the signal dropped and Henry departed with his goods train.

As Henry rolled onto the line, the fog began to roll in again and like his Driver said, it was thick. So thick that Henry could hardly see past his buffers, but as he looked up, he saw a light shining threw the fog, it was the amber lamp again.

"I'm probably seeing things," Henry thought to himself.

But unknown to Henry, the gates were closing and the signal had changed to red. He couldn't see any of this, until it was too late, "stop! Stop!" he cried, but they couldn't stop in time. Henry went smashing threw the crossing gates and dashed off into the distance. He rolled along the line, brakes screeching as he tried to stop. Finally after a short distance, Henry stopped with inches away from a rockside that had come onto the line.

Then from close by, Henry and his crew heard a loud rumbling noise. The crew looked behind them and saw rocks coming down the hillside and heading for his goods train. The guard jumped out of his van and ran for cover, it was a good thing he did that, cause the falling rocks had bumped into the train and pushed so hard aganist the trucks that they slid off the hillside and went crashing into the ravine below. Luckily, the coupling between Henry's tender and the first truck snapped as the trucks fell, so he stayed on the rails, but now he was trapped by the rocks.

"Bust my buffers," exclaimed Henry, "that was lucky."

The fireman climbed down from the cab and ran to see if the guard was okay. As he reached the spot where the guard had taken shelter, both men heard squeaking and creaking noises coming down their line and moments later, they saw an old hand car coming towards them. Both men were speechless, that was until they saw who was coming up towards them.

"There's our ghost, it's Old Bailey, the old stationmaster," smiled the fireman.

It was indeed Old Bailey, he was relieved to see that everyone was okay, apart from the trucks that had fallen into the ravine, "so it was you who warned us a few nights ago," said the guard.

"Yes," said Old Bailey, "and I tried to warn you tonight, but I guess you didn't see my amber lamp and the red signal."

"Amber lamp?" Henry repeated, "uh actually I did see it, but I thought my mind was playing tricks on me."

"Well it wasn't, it was me, I tried to warn you at my old station."

"Well we're sorry we didn't pay attention to you and your warnings tonight," said the fireman, "we owe you a great deal of thanks though, you saved us a few nights ago. But where have you been all these years?"

"Oh I've been here and there, but I always come back to this station, making sure no vandals were going to destory it and when I heard the line was reopening, I decided to keep an eye out and make sure that all trains go threw safely."

"I guess that explains everything we saw a few nights ago, but you know you're not suppose to be there."

"I know that, but I felt it was more important to keep you safe than standing by and watching you get hurt. It's just who I am."

"Oh we know," Henry thought happily to himself, "it's just what Edward said before."

The guard ran back to the station to call for help while Henry's crew and Old Bailey went to work in removing the rocks from behind Henry and by the time the breakdown services arrived, they had a path all cleared up for Henry to go back.

The police spoke with Old Bailey afterwords and let him off with a warning and gave him a heroism award for what he had done. They weren't the only ones who awarded Old Bailey, the Fat Controller was pleased with what he did and said that when the station and line was reopened, he could be the stationmaster again.

Now Old Bailey is as happy as can be, he proudly helps the passengers whenever they need help and he always waves to the engines that pass and talks with them whenever they're waiting to go. As for Henry, he's happy for Old Bailey and knows that if it's foggy when he or the other engines travel down that line, he knows Old Bailey 'The Station Ghost' will always keep an eye out for danger ahead and warn them just in the nick of time.


	100. Henry, James and the Old Station Ghost

_**Henry, James and the Old Station Ghost**_

_**Based on "Haunted Henry"**_

"That Percy is so gullible," chuckled James a few nights after the 'Dragon' trick was played on Percy, "thinking that a real dragon went past him, he's just as silly as Henry."

"What?" Henry asked crossly.

"Need I remind you of an engine who once got stuck in a tunnel because he was afraid of the rain? Then an elephant in a tunnel? Knowing you, you're probably scared of your own shadow."

"I am not!" Henry snapped in protest.

Just then, Henry's Driver and fireman came into the shed, "there's a goods train that needs to go down the old branch line and the Fat Controller's asked for us to take it there," said his Driver.

"That's fine," grumbled Henry, "anything's better than staying here and listening to James all night."

Once he had a good head of steam, Henry puffed out of the sheds. James couldn't resist himself and continued to tease Henry, "watch out, it's quite dark out there Henry!" he called.

"Shut up James!" snapped Henry.

He went to the yards, collected his goods train and departed once the guard was ready, "stupid James," he muttered.

In the early days of the North Western Railway, an old branch line once served a small village that could not be reached by the road. It was quite a reliable line, but overtime, people left the village to live in bigger towns and be closer to the roads. Traffic on the line decreased and soon there was no need to keep it open, so it was shut down.

Most recently though, the Fat Controller had decided to reopen the line for the enjoyment of enthusiasts who enjoyed seeing historical sights.

Henry was still grumbling when he reached the branch line, "tunnels and elephants," he said crossly, "James never lets me the end of it, I wish I could get back at him for his teasing."

His thoughts were soon interupted as thick fog began to roll in, making it difficult for Henry and his crew to see.

"We better slow down," Henry called to his crew, "I don't know if it'll be safe for us to travel at regular speeds threw this fog."

"We'll be fine Henry," said his Driver, "the line's been built stronger for us and besides, we can still see further up ahead thanks to your lamps."

That made Henry sigh in relief, but soon he found something to worry about, "there's an amber lamp ahead!" he called, "and there's a sign underneath it!"

His fireman leaned out the cab to take a look, "Beware of the Unsafe Viaduct," he read, "I wonder who'd warn us about that."

They were soon to find out as they reached a close off crossing gate. A new signal showed red and hanging from a tree branch was a fogman's coat, "where's the owner though?" asked the Driver.

"Over here!" called a voice, which nearly made Henry jump off the rails.

"Where did that voice come from?" he asked.

"From me," said the voice again. Henry looked down to the crossing and saw the owner of the fogman's coat, "the name is Old Bailey III," he said, "I'm going to be the new stationmaster here real soon."

"Well it's nice to meet you, but why have you stopped us?"

"Several pieces of the viaduct have fallen off and is unsafe to cross over, that's why I warned you."

"Well thank you very much," said the Driver, "we would've been in a serious accident had it not been for you. I suppose now we'll have to report this to the Fat Controller."

"Don't worry about that, I've already phoned him and told him everything, he's going to send workmen to the viaduct as soon as possible."

Then with the help of Old Bailey III, Henry reserved his train back down the line, then back out onto the main line and back to the big station.

When Henry returned to the sheds, he found there were no engines in the other engine berths, which made him sigh in relief again, "I least I don't have to listen to James for a while," he thought to himself.

Moments later, the Fat Controller came into the sheds, "I'm glad to see that you're all safe," he said, "it's a good thing you kept a good look out."

"Yes indeed sir and we're glad that old Bailey III warned us in the nick of time," said the fireman.

"Just like his grandfather before him," sighed the Fat Controller, "before the incident."

"What incident?" Henry asked curiously.

"You don't know the incident Henry?" Henry admitted that he didn't know, "Well it's a tragic incident...the platform was crowded with passengers and an on loaned engine, I think it was '87 or '98, was coming to the platform. One passenger wanted to see the train come in and pushed too hard, knocking poor Old Bailey I to the tracks and in the path of the train..."

The Fat Controller stopped, Henry didn't dare ask what happened next.

"It was a sad day for the railway," sighed the Fat Controller, "he was a good man."

"Though for sometime after the line closed down," added Henry's Driver, "when people went past that station, they've reported seeing Old Bailey I's spirit walking around the station before disappearing out of sight."

"He'll do no harm though," said the fireman, "but he has scared several people in the past."

With that said, the Fat Controller and Henry's crew left the sheds, leaving Henry alone with his thoughts.

Other engines soon returned to the shed, which included James, who had returned to the yards with an empty goods train, "oh look, if it isn't scaredy engine Henry, did you get scared tonight?" he asked cheekily.

"No I wasn't!" Henry snapped back, "but I would've been scared had I fallen off the viaduct!"

"What are you talking about?" James asked.

Henry told James and the other engines all about what happened that night, "I'm glad old Bailey III was watching out for us," Henry added, "just like his grandfather did before him."

"Ah yes, before the incident," Edward sighed sadly, who remembered the incident quite well for he had been the engine who pulled Old Bailey I's funeral train.

"My Driver says Old Bailey I's spirit still watches the station," added Henry, "from what many people have said."

"Those people were seeing things," said James, "there's no such things as ghosts."

"Dae yoo really think sae James?" asked Donald, "cause there 'ave bin reports of sightin's of ghosts in the past and they soond real tae many."

"Anyone who believes in such things as ghosts, dragons, spirits and whatever else is a foolish scaredy cat and need to know that there are no such things as ghosts."

"I'd be careful if I were you James," advised Henry, "otherwise you might have an encounter you'll never forget."

"Pah!" snorted James, who still didn't believe the others.

Workmen spent more than a few weeks working on the viaduct, it was in bad shape. Finally though, their work was complete and the viaduct was finally safe to cross.

James was still saying there were no such things as ghosts to the others, "if I have to, I'll go down the line and prove it to you," he said.

"Well thank you James for offering to take the goods train," said a well known voice, it was the Fat Controller, "I was having trouble deciding on which engine I should pick and now you've saved me alot of trouble."

"But sir I..."

"He's more than glad to help sir," Henry interupted, "he wants to help in any way he can to get the branch line running."

"Most excellent," smiled the Fat Controller, then he turned to James, "you'll find your goods train all ready to go, now get going James."

"Yes sir," James grunted threw his teeth. He shot Henry an angry stare while Henry showed a small smirk back.

Just as the Fat Controller said, James' goods train was all set to go, thanks to Duck, so all he had to do was couple up and depart once he had a clear road.

"Me and my big mouth," James grumbled.

Suddenly, an owl hooted and Gordon thundered past with the express. James screamed and nearly jumped off the rails, "take a look lads," snickered the lead truck, "our engine is scared of a little owl and that express engine." And the trucks giggled in their silly way.

"I am not!" snapped James, "I was just startled, that's all."

The trucks didn't believe him and continued to tease him, even after the guard blew his whistle. "Shut up and come along!" James snapped crossly and pulled the laughing trucks out of the yards.

By the time James reached the old branch line, the fog began to roll in again, which gave the branch line an eerie feel to it, "getting scared little James?" the trucks called to him cheekily.

"Call me Little James one more time and I will bump you all hard!" he snapped back.

Just then, he felt his speed decreasing, then he noticed the amber lamp up ahead, but without the sign underneath.

"They probably forgot to take that down," James thought to himself and continued on threw the thick fog.

All too soon, they neared the crossing where Henry met Old Bailey III. The gates were open, but not for long. A signal changed to red and the gates started to close on their own. The Driver applied the brakes and James skidded along the rails and smashed threw the gates, "ouch!" James cried.

He was startled by this sudden stop and a little sore from bashing into the crossing gates.

Then he heard clattering noises coming from the station, "is anyone there?" James asked, but no reply came. Then he saw something which spooked him badly, something moving around in the station building and was coming towards him.

James thought he knew what it was, "It's Old Bailey's Ghost! Back us up! Back us up!" James cried, "I don't want to be on this line anymore."

"But James, we have a delivery to make," said his Driver.

"I want to go back now!"

Without wasting a second, James' driver threw the train into reserve and away from the station with James screaming in pure panic.

Of course what James didn't know was that it was old Bailey III trying to warn him that a rockslide had come across the tracks and derailed some trucks that had been sitting on a siding into the ravine below.

All James knew though was that he had seen something unusual and he wanted to stay away from the line as much as possible. Henry soon found out that it was Old Bailey III that saved the day again, he thanked the man next time he saw him, but for a long time afterwords, Henry never did tell James the truth, "it serves him right for all his teasing," he says quietly to himself.

Although we have no idea if there really are such things as ghosts, Henry is glad that the 'Old Station Ghost' finally brought James down a peg or two.


	101. Duncan Gets Spooked

_**Duncan Gets Spooked**_

_**Based on "Duncan Gets Spooked"**_

Recently on the Skarloey Railway, Mr. Hugh, Rusty and the workmen have been hard at work in restoring many parts of the line to make them stronger for longer and heavier trains. The line to the Incline was one of those lines and during that time, Peter Sam had been assigned to help Rusty with the workloads.

The workmen loaded up Peter Sam's wagons with rubbish and old rails that needed to be replaced, then Peter Sam would take the trains away for the rubbish to be recycled.

One day, the workmen had finished loading up Peter Sam's trucks, but he was low on water and wasn't going to make it to the next water tower.

"Don't worry Peter Sam, I'll give you a push!" called Rusty and buffered up behind Peter Sam's train.

He pushed behind the train until they finally reached the top of the hill, "Thank you Rusty!" tooted Peter Sam. Rusty tooted back and rumbled away to do some more work.

Peter Sam was soon having a nice long drink. As he waited, he overheard his crew talking.

"I'm personally glad we're away from that bridge," said the fireman, "it gives me shivers everytime we cross over it."

"Why do you say that?" Peter Sam asked curiously.

"Well..." but the fireman was cut off when he heard some groaning coming from behind Peter Sam.

It was the loaded trucks, they were bored of sitting around doing nothing, they wanted some excitment and to do so, they were pulling on the coupling, "break away! Break away!" they said with determined tones in their voices.

"Stop that!" snapped Peter Sam, "or you'll..."

It was too late, there came a snap as they broke the coupling and started to roll away from Peter Sam, "Surprise! Surprise! Try and stop us now Peter Sam!"

"Stupid trucks, why can't they behave themselves?" groaned the Driver, shaking his head.

"Worry about that later, we have to stop them before they get to that bridge," said the fireman as he climbed down from Peter Sam's tank, "that bridge was not designed for trains at high speeds, they'll end up derailing."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go after them!" cried Peter Sam.

When his crew were back in the cab, Peter Sam chased after the runaway trucks.

They had gathered speed down the steep hill and were going faster than they had ever gone before. The guard in his van tried to slow them down, but it did no good, "On! On! On! Faster! Faster!" giggled the stupid trucks.

Then the guard noticed a sign ahead, it read "Slow Speed, Ravine Ahead."

"Oh good glory," he cried and jumped from his van. He knew he couldn't stop them in time.

The trucks cheered with joy, but they would soon regret their decision as they came to the old Iron Bridge. It was very long with no hand rails and stood a long way's up from the swampy ravine below. The trucks rolled onto it, then the van rolled off the tracks and over the side. The rest of the trucks followed and they all fell into the swamps below.

Peter Sam had continued his chase, but slowed when he, his crew and the guard, which they had picked up, got to the Old Iron Bridge.

"Stupid trucks, they deserve a dip in that swamp," muttered the Driver. "Now we'll have to get help to pull them out, I wonder what the Thin Controller and Mr. Hugh are going have to say about this."

When they heard the whole story, they went to speak with Peter Sam, "well Peter Sam, after hearing about what happened, we can say for sure that you are not to blame for the runaway," said Mr. Hugh kindly, "it was those silly trucks. Though in a way, it is my fault for not checking those couplings earlier, they were quite old and with the right amount of tugging and pulling, those trucks could easily break them."

"Well just be thankful it was a rubbish train and not a passenger train," said the Thin Controller, "otherwise we would've had a serious tragedy on our hands," he then turned to Peter Sam, "all the same, I think it would be best if you do shunting work for a while, I'll send Duncan to work with Rusty."

Duncan was not pleased when he heard the news, but he couldn't help but tease Peter Sam.

"Fancy losing all those trucks on the hill Peter Sam, your perfect record is ruined at last," he chuckled, "now you're going to be in real trouble for dropping those trucks into the swamp, the ghosts will come and haunt your special funnel. Ooohhh!" he said in a ghostly way.

"Stop it Duncan!" snapped Skarloey, "Peter Sam was lucky that he had only trucks. If it was a passenger train, it wouldn't have been a laughing matter."

"Besides, who's to say you're not afraid of ghosts Duncan?" asked Rusty.

"I'm not afraid of ghosts," he said with a smirk, "things that go bump in the night are such rubbish. Besides, there's no such things."

"So you say," said Rheneas, "but Skarloey and I know a story that'll make you shiver in your frames."

"Very well then, scare me," Duncan smirked.

And so, Rheneas began to tell the story of the old Iron Bridge.

"This story takes place many years before Sir Handel and Peter Sam had arrived on the railway. Workloads had increased on the line and we were wearing down fast. The Thin Controller brought in another engine to help with the workloads, he was always working his hardest and was very friendly to everyone, including the trucks and he was always on time with his journeys...but that was due to change one night."

"As you may know, the old Iron Bridge that stands above that swamp was built in the early days of the Skarloey Railway. We couldn't built a viaduct due to the fact that the ground below wasn't level and after a rainstorm, the ground would become too soft for the stone pillars and so, we built the Iron Bridge that spanned from end of the canyon to the other."

"Anyways," Rheneas continued, "our visitor was making his way home with a loaded goods train. Heavy fog had began to roll in, making things difficult to see, but the moon was shining brightly in the night sky, "not long now before we get home," the engine to himself. But what happened next, no one really knows..."

"What do you mean no one knows?" Duncan interupted.

"You'll find out," Skarloey said, "now be quiet Duncan and let Rheneas continue."

Duncan went silent and Rheneas continued, "from what we can guess, the engine was making his way across the bridge slowly since the line wasn't maintaned properly. All was well until there was a bump and the engine leaned to one side and fell off the bridge, it's train followed closely behind. There was nothing the crew and the guard could do, they stayed with the engine as they went splashing into the swamps below."

"It was a sad day for the railway as they were never found again, but would be seen again..." Rheneas paused for dramatic effect, "I think Skarloey can tell you this next part."

And so Skarloey continued the story, "it was one year after the accident, I was travelling along the line with an empty goods train and as I got to the bridge, I stopped cause I had low steam preasure. As we waited, we heard a sharp whistle in the distance and then we saw it...it was the shape of an engine with a train coming towards us. We were all shocked to see another engine, the crew jumped in the cab and prepared to make us back up, but we had no need to do that as the engine vanished at the halfway point of the bridge. This was then followed by a loud splash from the swamps below. It sent shivers threw my frames I can tell you that."

"Now every year on the day of the accident," Rheneas continued, "When the moon is full and the ravine below is surronded by fog, you can see the little engine trying to cross the bridge and make it's way home, but it never reaches the other side."

Silence fell agmost the engines, they didn't know what to say - well, all except for Duncan, "what a load of rubbish," he sniffed, "you must've been seeing things Skarloey. There are no such things as ghosts."

Just then, the Thin Controller returned to the sheds, "Duncan, I need you to take some workmen up to the incline."

"But why now at this time of night?" Duncan asked, "wouldn't it be better to do it in the morning?"

"Nope sorry, we need to move alot of slate all day tomorrow, so we need that incline working again. Why do you ask Duncan?"

"Maybe it's because of the ghost engine of the Old Iron Bridge," chuckled Sir Handel, "maybe Duncan really is scared of ghosts."

"Shut up Sir Handel, I am not scared!" Duncan snapped in protest, "I was just curious that's all."

Sir Handel didn't believe him and said so, but Skarloey and Rheneas quickly told him to hush before an argument could break out. Duncan puffed over to the yards where he collected the workmen and some trucks, then he set off towards the Old Iron Bridge.

"Haunted Bridge, Pah!" he sniffed, "it's as tame as a pet rabbit."

But he didn't sound very convincing at all. As he got closer and closer to the bridge, Duncan kept thinking about the story that the old engines told him.

"I hope to get this job done soon," he said out loud, "otherwise Sir Handel or Skarloey will take my favourite spot in the shed."

"It might be an all night job Duncan," said his Driver, "we might not get back to the yards before morning."

Hearing that, Duncan began to grow anxious. Finally, they reached the Old Iron Bridge. The moon was full and fog was rising all around the bridge. Duncan whistled loudly and the sound echoed everywhere. Suddenly, they heard another whistle in the distance, Duncan's Driver stopped the train just before the bridge.

"Did you hear that?" he asked the fireman.

"Yeah I heard it," he nodded, "it sounds like a steam engine's whistle, but it can't be any of the other engines. They're all back at the sheds."

"I think I know who blew that whistle," Duncan groaned with a shaky tone in his voice.

"Who was it then?" the crew asked in unison, but they got no answer from Duncan.

They looked out the cab windows and saw in the distance, the shape of an engine and a fully loaded goods train was rattling onto the bridge from the other side of the canyon. Duncan couldn't say a single word, he seemed to have lost his voice at that moment. He and his crew watched as the engine puffed closer and closer towards them, but then as it reached the halfway point of the bridge, it vanished - then they heard a loud splash from below the bridge.

They were all stunned and remained where they were in silence until a workmen came walking up towards them, "What's the hold up? We need to get to work right away."

"Oh sorry," said the Driver, "We'll get going."

Once the workman was back in the coach, they set off to the incline. Duncan looked down anxiously and nervously to the ravine below, but still unable to speak a single word.

When they got to the incline and the workmen went to work, the Driver and fireman climbed down from the cab and spoke with Duncan, "well that's something you don't see everyday," his Driver said calmly, "do you want to talk about it Duncan?"

"No," he snapped, "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Okay then we'll leave you," said the fireman and they did, but they before they disappeared out of sight, the fireman whispered, "when you're ready, we'll talk then."

To this day, Duncan still tries to act like he saw nothing at all that night, but of course, we know of what Duncan saw on that bridge. Don't we?


End file.
